Islam and the Danish-Scandinavian Welfare State: A 'Muslims in the West' reaction essay

In the different country cases, Islam is interchangeably seen as a faith, a political ideology, a cultural and identity marker, a lifestyle, as well as a civilization in its own right. As a result, various and sometimes contradictory understandings of “Islam” can co-exist and be emphasized according to context, speaker, and audience. In secularized societies such as Denmark and the Netherlands, where religion is considered as a private matter, Islam is represented as the main antagonist to Western (liberal) values and principles.