Paper short abstract:

Ethnographic research in Belgian institutions shows noticeable differences amongst policy elites in giving Islam a place in the public sphere. Drawing from this research I suggest that we pay more attention to the implicit cultural assumptions of multicultural policies.

Paper long abstract:

Debates on multicultural politics heavily draw on the elaboration of theoretical principles or explicit visions of moral order but pay less attention to the impact of public and institutional cultures. In this paper I draw on ethnographic research within Belgian institutions to analyse the ways in which policy makers develop policies for teachers of Islamic religion. I argue that deep rooted differences in public culture between the Flemish and French speaking policy elites in Belgium lead to a very different perception and institutional handling of Islam in the public sphere, with contradictory and surprising outcomes. Flemish communitarianism leads to a liberal multiculturalism in which Islamic teachers are given a constructive role in public schools. By contrast the egalitarian ethos in French speaking institutions, however leads to a marginalisation of Muslim religion teachers. Drawing from these examples I suggest that we need to pay more attention to the implicit cultural assumptions of policy makers and policy institutions and how these are articulated and expressed to understand the construction and practice of multicultural policies.