Introduction

Five million migrants from Turkey live in European countries and their number has continued to increase; Turks are the largest immigrant group in both Germany and the Netherlands. However, both countries differ markedly in their integration strategies; these strategies and their social and political implications are assessed in this chapter. While in Germany the main issue for Islamic organisations has been to get legally accepted as a religion, in the Netherlands, Diyanet and Millî Görüş are accepted as religions and both are part of the Contact Body Muslims and Government (Contactorgaan Moslims en Overheid, CMO). How does this have an impact on the strategies and activities of Islamic faith-based organisations (FBOs) in the two countries? And how are the FBOs related to their organisations in Turkey?

To answer these questions, we first present data on the number of Muslims in the three countries and a breakdown by Islamic Schools of religion. The next section compares migrant organisations in Germany and the Netherlands by analysing 23 interviews with organisations’ representatives along with additional material on the FBOs. We include 47 interviews conducted in Turkey, describing their aims, the types and range of welfare services delivered and the legal status of these organisations in Germany and the Netherlands. We then discuss the problem of migrant organisations as religious organisations. The relation of these organisations to Turkey and Turkish policy is examined in the third section. We specifically study the links and influence between European Millî Görüş and Diyanet, and the relationship of Millî Görüş with the Justice and Development Party (JDP) in Turkey. A major question underlying these analyses is whether migrant problems are transformed into religious problems, and this is discussed in the fourth section.

We summarise our findings in comparative tables throughout this chapter, and suggest explanations for the differences observed. Based on these findings, in a final section we derive several policy implications, particularly with respect to a better recognition of Islamic organisations in Germany (following the Dutch model) and a party-independent welfare system in Turkey.