Towards a more inclusive feminism
defining feminism through faith
pp. 210-227
in: Rosi Braidotti, Bolette Blaagaard, Tobijn de Graauw, Eva Midden (eds), Transformations of religion and the public sphere, Berlin, Springer, 2014Abstract
In 1991, the conservative liberal politician Frits Bolkestein published the article " Integratie van minderheden moet met lef worden aangepakt ' ("Integretation of minorities should be handled with guts'), which is generally considered to be the start of a long range of debates about minorities in the Netherlands. Even though many already believed that more attention should be given to the integration of migrants, the words of Bolkestein shocked the country (Prins, 2002). His main thesis is that multiculturalism should be limited; Western principles like freedom and equality are to be protected by all means (Bolkestein, 1991). Furthermore, he argues that more attention should be paid to the integration of minorities: because it is such a difficult problem, we have to deal with it with courage and creativity. There is no room for taboos or taking the easy way out (Bolkestein, 1991: 188).