\u2022 In April 2010, a bill to make it a crime to wear a face covering passed unamimously in the lower house of the Belgium parliament. It is likely to become law soon.<\/p>\n
\u2022 In May 2010, the French cabinet approved a ban on face-covering veils worn in public. If the National Assembly votes positively, it will be a crime for a woman to wear a burqa<\/i> or niqab<\/i>. The penalty will be a fine of $186 and required attendance in a citizenship class (!). <\/p>\n
\u2022 According to USA Today<\/i>, “Lawmakers in Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands voice support for
\nbanning veils but have been held back by . . . legal concerns.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
![\"muslim-woman-chador-london-5.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/94\/import\/photos\/muslim-woman-chador-london-5.jpg\")
<\/span>Why is Europe moving to ban the wearing of face-coverings by Muslim women, many of whom have chosen to do this as an expression of their faith in Allah? One stated concern is security. Police need to be able to identify people in public, explains a co-author of the law in Belgium. (Photo: I took this picture in Hyde Park, London, in 2007. The woman is not wearing a face-covering, but rather a chador that covers her body completely but not her face. I did see several burqa-wearing women in Hyde Park, but was not able to photograph them.) <\/p>\nBut motivation for banning face coverings is motivated by more than worries about security. Here are some quotations from the USA Today<\/i> story by supporters of the bans:<\/p>\n“It is really dangerous for our values in Europe,” [a Belgian lawmaker] says.<\/p>\n
“There are extremist gurus out there and we must stop their influence
\nand barbaric ideologies,” says Communist Party lawmaker Andr\u00e9 Gerin.
\n“Covering one’s face undermines one’s identity, a woman’s femininity
\nand gender equality.”<\/p>\n
France banned all religious symbols, including large crosses and head
\nscarves, from public classrooms and buildings in 2004. The draft law
\nstates that the French republic’s founding values of liberty, equality
\nand fraternity are at stake — that a face covering undermines a woman’s
\nliberty by keeping her separate from society, violates fraternity by
\nexcluding others because it hides her face, and undermines gender
\nequality by keeping women in an unequal position.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
So, it seems, that many would argue in favor of a limitation on religious liberty on the basis of the need for liberty. <\/p>\n
Many religious leaders, including many Christians, have spoken out against the face-covering bans. Not only are these leaders concerned about the denial of religious liberty for Muslim women, but also they are reading the handwriting on the wall. If the state can, in the guise of a commitment to liberty, limit expressions of religious liberty, then Christians are surely next in line for legal limitations.<\/p>\n
Lest we in the United States think we are immune from this sort of limitation, a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court is a chilling reminder that our religious freedom cannot be taken for granted. I’ll have more to say about this tomorrow. <\/p>\n
<\/blockquote>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I have been watching for some time the move in Europe to limit religious liberty for the sake of, well, liberty. At least that’s what they’re saying in Europe: limit liberty for the sake of liberty. Hmmm. My attention was gripped last year when Switzerland voted in a national referendum to modify the Swiss Constitution…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89,182],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-religion-and-culture","category-religious-liberty"],"yoast_head":"\n
Religious Liberty at Risk: Islam in Europe - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2010\/06\/religious-liberty-at-risk-isalm-in-europe.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Religious Liberty at Risk: Islam in Europe - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I have been watching for some time the move in Europe to limit religious liberty for the sake of, well, liberty. At least that’s what they’re saying in Europe: limit liberty for the sake of liberty. Hmmm. 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Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1164\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"minaret-swiss-5.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/94\/import\/photos\/minaret-swiss-5.jpg\")
<\/span>My attention was gripped last year when Switzerland voted in a national referendum to modify the Swiss Constitution to ban the building of minarets on buildings. Existing minarets in four Swiss cities would not be affected. But no new minarets could be constructed. Those who supported the ban argued that the minaret, though usually found on Islam mosques, was not an essential part of Islam, and thus there was no issue of religious freedom. But supporters certainly used fear of Muslims as a powerful weapon in their effort to pass the referendum. In spite of the fact that the Swiss government and most religious bodies opposed it, the referendum passed with 57.5% of voters approving. (Photo: A minaret on a mosque of a Turkish cultural association in Wangen bei Olten.)<\/p>\n