ABSTRACT
Many scholars have emphasized the significance of the concept of secularism in relation to contemporary European modernity. The concept of secularism offers a prism through which to explore various theoretical and methodological questions emerging in relation to the veil debates across contexts within different state-religion regimes. This chapter aims at juxtaposing discourses on Muslim veiling practices in countries with diverse histories, cultural and political environments and legal regulations. The social concerns and political impasses of culturalist approaches coping with differences among women are clarified by comparing a certain Austrian ecumenical liberalism with the German conflicts related to Ludin’s claim, as well as with the Dutch controversies on the meaning and role of multiculturalism. The chapter examines texts from Austria, the Netherlands and Germany, countries in which a modality of state neutrality has been emblematic of regulating the incorporation of the Islamic alterity in society.
