Kasper van Laarhoven

In 2018 the Dutch government created an interdepartmental ‘Taskforce’ to try and redefine aspects of orthodoxy and Salafism as ‘problematic behavior’, to subsequently counter it. The first significant case it took up, was that of the Islamic secondary school The Haga Lyceum (est. 2017). Kasper van Laarhoven aims to integrate the intelligence, politics and events surrounding the school into a compelling narrative about the way our nation treats minorities despite rising tensions and suspicions.

Kasper worked at NIAS on his book ‘Het Cornelius Haga Lyceum, orthodoxie in tijden van islamkritiek’. In his report, you can read how Kasper experienced his time at NIAS (in Dutch).

The Journalist-in-Residence Fellowship is for journalists with a keen interest in scholarly research who need an extended period of time to focus on a longer piece of journalistic work. Previous fellows include Niels Mathijssen, Mark Lievisse Adriaanse, Lynn Berger, Fleur van der Bij, Saar Slegers, Anne-Lot Hoek, Jaap Tielbeke and Dirk van Delft. The programme is a collaboration between NIAS and the Fonds Bijzondere Journalistieke Projecten.