This chapter is divided into three sections. The first examines social science literature on migration and citizenship, and its relevance to the issue of Muslims in Europe. The second examines the results of two sets of interviews conducted with European parliamentarians, and underscores striking convergences across the political spectrum in how the issue of Muslim migration is constructed. The third section looks at the 2004 murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh. The handling of this in the Netherlands represents a dramatic example of the political discovery of a Muslim problem with far-reaching implications for the future of religious pluralism and democracy.
Keywords: immigration, Islam, citizenship, religious pluralism, Muslims, Netherlands, Theo van Gogh, democracy