“Religious Freedom as the Prerequisite for Interfaith Dialogue”
The Minaret Ban and its Implications
This speech has been given by Peter Zoehrer, FOREF Europe
(Thursday, December 03, 2009, at 5:30 PM, Vienna International University)
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, alone or in community with others, and, in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has largely been drafted by experts of religion.
Yet, in spite of the existence of those clear standards during the recent decades humanity has suffered numerous conflicts that have been marked by religious intolerance.
The possibility of religious wars always looms ominously above our heads like the sword of Damocles.
Therefore continuous inter-religious dialogue is of paramount importance to overcoming misunderstandings amongst peoples of differing religious backgrounds.
One popular Austrian saying contains a simple, yet profound truth: “Talking to each other brings the people together!”
The following issues have recently caused great controversies and even ignited religious hatred on our European continent:
- Mohammed Cartoon Controversy (Denmark
- Crucifix ban (Italy) – European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
- Last Sunday: Minaret ban Switzerland (57%) – over 1 Million Suisse citizens have cast their vote in the peoples referendum.
From the viewpoint of human rights standards there is no doubt, that such a ban on building minarets is violating religious freedom. The point however is that during the recent years the fear of Islamist extremism has swept throughout the European continent. These concerns are very real. They don’t just go away by governments, religious leaders liberal media or rights defenders preaching to people or accusing them of intolerance or xenophobia.
