Minoranze islamiche e applicazione della Shari’a in Occidente

March 18, 2019, 9:30 am – 1:00 pm

In a multicultural society, the presence of minorities such as the Muslim minority, who find their identity in religion, coupled with the growing demand on the part of these communities for the recognition of forums in which to resolve their disputes based on religious law, has led the western legal systems to rethink the role of state neutrality towards religion, seeking solutions for inclusion and protection of differences.

The dichotomy between secular law and religious law creates many difficulties when a strong religious minority, such as the Muslim one, claims the right to apply the Shari’a in matters of family law as an element of religious freedom.

Considering the Greek case, in which the Shari’a finds full application regarding the members of the Muslim minority of Thrace, the judgement Molla Sali vs. Grecia, recently announced by the European Court of Human Rights, highlights some particularly important issues for the position and treatment of Islamic minorities in Europe.

In particular, the Court dealt with interpretation issues of the right of minority members to free self-identification, the right to voluntarily choose ordinary law or religious law, as well as the consequences of the imposition of religious law on minority members.

Addressing the Greek case, the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights underlines matters of primary importance for the future of reasonable accommodation judicial policies in Europe.

Simultaneous Italian-English translation will be available.