Within the past year, an increasingly visible and polarizing symbol of religion in Europe – the Islamic headscarf – has been the subject of conflicting decisions of the two premier international institutions responsible for interpreting the scope of freedom of religion or belief. In Şahin v. Turkey, a Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights held that although a Turkish ban on wearing headscarves at state universities infringes on the right of students to manifest their religion, the infringement can nevertheless be justified as “necessary in a democratic society.”¹   In contrast, in a decision handed down less than six months later, the U.N. Human Rights Committee reached the opposite conclusion in a case with essentially parallel facts, where, however, the (Uzbekh) government failed to argue why infringement was permissible.²  

 

            Although the focus of these important decisions has been the issue of the Islamic headscarf, the implications reach far beyond and affect international and comparative understandings of the right to freedom of religion or belief in a highly pluralized world that is also increasingly polarized by religious symbols. The stakes are enormous and go far beyond symbolism.  At a political level, which forms of manifestation of religion by believing Muslims can be accommodated within the framework of global and regional human rights instruments?  Islam is now at least the second largest religion after Christianity (and in some places the largest) in all of  the countries within the vast domain now subject to the jurisdiction of the European Court, stretching from Ireland to Vladivostok.  It is the predominant religion in forty-four countries world-wide, and many other countries (including notably China and India) have large Muslim minorities.  What does freedom to manifest religion mean for them and for those with whom they live?

 

            At the judicial level, equally weighty questions are at issue.  Does good analysis support the conclusion that banning religious attire in educational settings is really “necessary in a democratic society”? How broadly should the concepts of “public order” and “rights of third parties” be construed? At an ultimate level, when do threats to democracy and constitutional order become sufficiently grave to justify overriding rights that might otherwise be protected?  How do these issues interact with evolving understanding of women’s rights?

 

Sensing the magnitude and urgency of these issues, a group of institutions with significant expertise in the field of freedom of religion or belief have joined together to hold an expert’s seminar aimed at deepening discussion and analysis of the topic.  The conference will be held in Strasbourg from 28-30 July 2005.  The opening will coincide with and constitute a part of the closing ceremonies of the annual summer program of the International Institute of Human Rights, which is focusing this year on “International Protection of Women’s Rights.”  This session will occur from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. on July 28.  Sessions on Friday, 29 July, will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the library of the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg, 2 allée René Cassin.  Sessions on Saturday, 30 July, will be held from 9:30 to 2:00 p.m. at the conference hotel, Exclusive Hotel Hannong, 15 Rue du 22 Novembre, 67000 Strasbourg, France.

 

In an effort to enrich dialogue on the issues, it is anticipated that drafts of conference papers will be placed on a public website prior to being published in finalized versions.  Time constraints limit the number of papers that can be presented at the conference, but conference organizers will consider posting additional papers of suitable quality on the website that will be established.  The organizers recognize the need for robust discussion of all sides of the issues involved.

 

Participants of the seminar included:

 

W. Cole Durham, International Center for Law and Religion Studies (BYU, USA)

Silvio Ferrari, University of Milan

Jean Francois Flauss (International Institute of Human Rights, Strasbourg)

Alain Garay, Avocat, Paris; Chargé des Cours, University of Aix-Marseille

Jeremy Gunn, Director of Program on Religion and Belief, ACLU, United States

Guy Haarscher (Université Libre de Bruxelles)

Imal Idrissi, Morocco

Tore Lindholm, Norwegian Centre for Human Rights

Javier Martinez-Torron, Complutense University, Madrid

Gerhard Robbers, Institute for European Constitutional Law

            Martin Scheinin, Åbo Akademi University Institute for Human Rights, Finnland,

and until recently, a member of the UN Human Rights Committee

 

Various other experts also submitted papers. 

 

Sponsoring organizations include:

 

Åbo Akademi University Institute for Human Rights

The Norwegian Centre for Human Rights

The Oslo Coalition for Freedom of Religion or Belief

Serzioni di Diritto Ecclesiastico e Canonica, l'Università degli Studi di Milano

Institut für europäisches Verfassungsrecht, Trier University

International Institute of Human Rights, Strasbourg

Department of Ecclesiastical Law at Complutense University, Madrid

The Section of Canon Law and Church-State Relations of the Royal Academy of

Jurisprudence and Legislation of Spain.

The Faculty of Law of the University of Bristol

International Center for Law and Religion Studies at BYU (USA)

Law and Religion Program, Emory Law School (USA)