Adopting a face-veil, concluding an Islamic marriage: autonomy, agency, and liberal secular rule

In the Netherlands a wide range of Islam-related practices have been at the centre of heated public debate in the course of the last decade. In this contribution, I focus on two of these practices – face veiling and what is commonly referred to as ‘Islamic marriages’ 1 – which have not only drawn the attention of the media, but also of politicians, policymakers, and parliamentarians. 2 Various attempts have been made to ban these practices. In the case of face veiling, this concerns either proposals to prohibit wearing face coverings in all public spaces or more limited locational and functional prohibitions. With respect to Islamic marriages, nearly forgotten legislation has been revived, while the association of Islamic marriages with forced and cousin marriages has triggered new legislation. However, this chapter only marginally engages with the question of whether governmental actors have succeeded in producing and implementing specifi c laws or regulations. Rather, it broadens the scope and investigates the wider range of effects that the problematization of these practices produces