The Creation of Muslim Representative Institutions in the “Secular” European States

European governments want Muslim communities to organize coherent structures to better interact with the state. However, the state should not go so far as to define the features that this structure should possess “on the inside.” How can European states properly comprehend the institutionalization of Islam and channel this process, without too much trauma, towards a system of relations between states and religions that is characteristic of the European tradition? Through a correct distinction between three fundamental principles underlying the relations between states and religions: freedom; cooperation; and autonomy. Keywords: Islamreligious freedompluralismlawnon‐governmental organizationsWestern Europe Notes 1. See Ferrari, “The Secularity of the State.” 2. It should be remembered that this is not a difficulty only for Muslims: the European Jewish communities during the 18th and 19th centuries went through the same process of institutionalization, with similar difficulties. 3. In Austria a law of 1874 provides that the main religious communities of the country are to be recognized by law. Until now, besides the Roman Catholic Church, the religious communities that have obtained this recognition are: the Protestant Church (1961), the Orthodox Church (1967), the Jewish community (1890), and the Muslim community. See Potz, “State and Church in Austria,” 396–401. 4. See Wieshaider, “The Legal Status of the Muslim Minority in Austria,” 31–32; and Heine, “Islam in Austria,” 102–4. In Poland a similar path was followed and the Muslim community has been recognized since 1936. See Rynkowski, “Poland.” 5. In Spain the religious communities that have been registered and which have deep roots in the history of the country can stipulate agreements with the state and in this way obtain advantages that are denied to those communities that do not have such an agreement. To date the Spanish state has signed agreements with the Federation of the Evangelical Religious Organizations, the Federation of the Jewish Communities, and the Islamic Commission. The Roman Catholic Church enjoys a particular juridical regime which was established by means of a series of concordats concluded between 1976 and 1979. See Ibán, “State and Church in Spain.” 6. See Mantecón, “Islam in Spain,” 216–18; Jiménez‐Aybar, El Islam en España, 195; and Motilla, Los musulmanes en España, 19–20, 51–52. 7. See the Real Decreto 710/2006, de 9 de junio, concerning religious assistance in prisons; El próximo curso habrá mas profesores de religion islámica en la escuela publica, May 23, 2005, www.wmaker.net/profesislam/docs/ERI/clases.htm. More generally, see Moreras, “Spain.” 8. On Belgium, see Torfs, “Le régime constitutionnel des cultes en Belgique,” 76–80; and Torfs, “State and Church in Belgium.” Specifically on Islam in Belgium, see Hallet, “The Status of Muslim Minority in Belgium,” 39–58. 9. See Hallet, “The Status of Muslim Minority in Belgium,” 43–48; Foblets and Overbeeke, “Islam in Belgium”; and Ferrari, “The Secularity of the State,” 17. 10. See reports from the website of Human Rights Without Frontiers (www.hrwf.net): “Ongoing Tensions between the State and the Representative Bodies of the Muslim Community,” May 24, 2004; “Royal Decree Imposes Internal Elections on Muslims,” June 28, 2004; “Law Imposing Elections on the Muslim Community Voted,” July 22, 2004; “Rulings of the Court of Arbitration about Alleged State Interference in Internal Matters of Religions,” October 10, 2005. 11. See reports from the website of Human Rights Without Frontiers (www.hrwf.net): “Muslim Elections: Observation Report,” March 24, 2005; “Muslim Elections Results definitively Confirmed,” March 25, 2005; “Appointment of the new Muslim Executive,” October 10, 2005; “Negative ‘screening’ of a candidate to the Muslim Executive,” October 10, 2005; Manço and Kamma, “Belgium,” 38. 12. In a series of decisions the European Court of Human Rights has placed precise limits on the power of the public administration to interfere with the internal organization of a religious community. See the decisions in the cases of Hasan and Chaush v. Bulgaria, October 26, 2000 (in particular par. 78) and Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia v. Moldova, July 13, 2001 (in particular paragraph 117). See also Foblets and Overbeeke, “Islam in Belgium,” 16–18. 13. The Belgian Constitution contains a provision (Article 21) that forbids the state from interfering with the appointment of ministers of any religion. See Torfs, “Autonomy of Churches in Belgium,” 83. 14. See Foblets and Overbeeke, “Islam in Belgium,” 21. 15. See Basdevant‐Gaudemet, “Islam in France,” 64–68; Sevaistre, “L’Islam dans la république,” 33–48; Zarka, L’Islam en France, 67–106; and Caeiro, “Religious Authorities or Political Actors?,” 72–75. 16. The document may be found at www.pourinfo.ouvaton.org/immigration/dossierchenement/chevenement.htm (Accessed May 15, 2010). It was preceded, in 1994, by the Charte du culte musulman en France (published in Islam en Europe: Législation relative aux Communautés Musulmanes, Bruxelles, Comece, 2001, 160–72), signed by the members of the Conseil consultatif des Musulmans de France, guided by the Paris Mosque. Many Muslim representatives considered the request to sign this declaration a demonstration of suspicion and lack of trust. See Cesari, “Islam in France,” 40. 17. In the introduction, it also contains the statement that “discrimination based on sex, religion, ethnic membership, lifestyles, health or handicap is contrary to this principle [of equality] and punishable according to criminal law.” A reference, originally contained in the document, to the freedom to change one’s religion was omitted in the final version. 18. See Chevènement’s speech of January 28, 2000 at www.pourinfo.ouvaton.org/immigration/dossierchenement/chevenement.htm (Accessed May 15, 2010). 19. In the same speech Chevènement affirmed that Islam, “differently from Christianity did not know the Renaissance nor the Reformation. Certainly, Islam makes a distinction between the religious and the worldly sphere. But there are Muslims who affirm that this distinction requires coordination and therefore a permanent implication of religion in world affairs.” However, coordination between the temporal and the spiritual is not only a Muslim characteristic: it is also often put forward by representatives of other religions, including by Roman Catholics. 20. See Otterbeck, “The Legal Status of Islamic Minorities in Sweden,” 238–41; Alwall, Muslim Rights and Plights, 184–87. 21. This is the case, for example, of Germany. See Rohe, “The Legal Treatment of Muslims in Germany,” 86–88; Puza, “The Rights of Moslems and Islam in Germany,” 70–72; Al‐Hamarneh and Thielmann, Islam and Muslims in Germany. On The Netherlands, see Rath et al., Western Europe and its Islam, 93–94

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