Trajecta - Volume 29, Issue 1, 2020

In contemporary debates on religion and multiculturalism in the Netherlands, Islam is hypervisible as a ‘problem' originating from outside Europe – the discussion of which draws a clear distinction between the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Muslims. Yet, at the same time, almost no reference is made to the Dutch history of Islam and Muslims prior to World War II. Based on a study of the literature on the history of Islam and the Netherlands during the 16th and 17th centuries and covering the colonial rule of Indonesia and the rise of Indonesian communities in the Netherlands during the interwar period, I trace how the distinction between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Muslims resonates throughout Dutch history. I show how the trope of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Muslims can be found in different, and sometimes contradictory ways and was determined by the local and global interests of the ruling elites and their desire to maintain peace and order to prevent politically dissenting Islamic ideas and transnational movements from influencing local Muslims.

The disenchantment of the world initiated by the Enlightenment was not a linear process. Folktales show that a magical world-view persisted in rural society until about 1900. An analysis of two types of folktales demonstrates that even in orthodox Calvinism there were people to whom witchcraft was ascribed. The persistence of belief in witchcraft must be explained both from the rural context and in light of orthodox Calvinism, which held a literal belief in the powers of good and evil personified by God and the devil.

The implosion of Communism between 1989 and 1991 in Central- and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the following socio-economic transitions had a strong impact on Western European social movements. The international trade union movement and trade unions in Belgium and the Netherlands were galvanized to support the changing labour landscape in CEE, which witnessed the emergence of new independent unions and the reform of the former communist organizations. This article explores the so far little-studied history of Christian trade union engagement in post-communist Europe. Focusing on the World Confederation of Labour (WCL) and its Belgian and Dutch members, it reveals how Christian trade unions tried to recruit independent trade unions in the East by presenting themselves as a ‘third way’ between communism and capitalism and by emphasizing the global dimensions of their movement. The WCL ultimately failed to play a decisive role in Eastern Europe because of internal disagreements, financial struggles and competition with the International Confederation of Trade Unions.

De rijke processiecultuur in Vlaanderen is een merkwaardig en opmerkelijk persistent fenomeen dat uiteenlopende betekenissen in zich draagt. Die vinden hun neerslag in divers en waardevol materieel en immaterieel erfgoed. De lokale traditiedragers en erfgoedgemeenschappen hebben nood aan ondersteuning en begeleiding. Initiatieven zoals die van het consortium ‘Op handen gedragen’ (Histories, PARCUM en KADOC-KU Leuven) spelen daarop in. Door het faciliteren van expertise-uitwisseling en de aanmaak van een centraal repertorium van processietradities wordt de zorg voor het betrokken erfgoed versterkt, een essentiële voorwaarde voor meer en vernieuwend onderzoek naar de historische en actuele praktijken. We bieden een stand van zaken en schetsen de contouren van een onderzoeksagenda.