'Wearing a headscarf is my personal choice.' With this statement, Jasmina, a 16-year-old Moroccan daughter of immigrants, characterizes her position in Dutch society. The headscarf indicates her religion and, indirectly, her origins. In wearing it, she indicates to others that she is a Muslim and a member of the umma, the Muslim community. Her comment that this is her personal choice is indicative of the process of individualization that is taking place in western Dutch society, where people are increasingly faced with having to make their own decisions. The process of individualization implies detachment from collective relationships such as religious communities, but the choice to wear a headscarf appears to indicate a choice made in the opposite direction. In this article the author discusses this paradox from an anthropological perspective.