ABSTRACT
In the Netherlands, arguably more than any in other European country, antiIslamic sentiment has had political consequences, including the formation of three political parties on a principally anti-Islamic platform (Leefbar Nederland (Liveable Netherlands), List Pim Fortuyn and Partij voor de Vrijheid (Freedom Party)), the dismantling in the short period between 2003 and 2006 of many of the pillars of ‘institutional multiculturalism’ (Vertovec and Wessendorf, 2010, pp. 3-4) fought for and constructed in the previous twenty years (Meer and Modood, 2009, p. 474) and the introduction of an immigration selection process specifically designed to exclude social conservatives (Butler, 2008, p. 3). What caused this ‘Dutch multicultural reversal’ (DMR), and what relevance might it have for other European countries?
