The Towers of Christendom

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:25:24 +0100

Intensive debates, or rather fierce polemics, have arisen throughout Europe since a clear majority of the Swiss population agreed by referendum to a constitutional ban on the future construction of minarets. Many have reacted in a Pavlovian fashion by referring to religious freedom as the end of all argument. We should not; it is due time to think about these issues more extensively.

Let us first consider the facts. The Swiss population has expressed its approval of a ban on the building of minarets. It has not asked for a ban on the building of mosques or the persecution of people of the Islamic faith. Is this then an issue of religious freedom as some have argued? To answer this question we should first define what religious freedom is. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.” As a minaret is not needed or prescribed by Islam in its teaching or for its practice, worship or observance, all of these rights are not endangered by a minaret ban, it is hence incorrect to say that the minaret ban encroaches on religious freedoms per se.

Now that we have demonstrated that a minaret ban does not go against religious freedom, let us move on to the question of whether or not minarets should be tolerated in Europe. But first let us acknowledge that religious freedom exists primarily in the Western world where it originates and that Islamic states do not grant their citizens religious freedoms to the extent that European states do. This is not just a matter of coincidence. Religious freedoms have evolved in the European culture or civilization, a civilisation heavily influenced by Christian faith and social thought. As Jürgen Habermas put it:

“Christianity, and nothing else, is the ultimate foundation of liberty, conscience, human rights, and democracy, the benchmarks of Western civilisation. To this day, we have no other options [than Christianity]. We continue to nourish ourselves from this source. Everything else is post-modern chatter.”

And so we come to the core of this brief discourse. Religious freedoms are not something that washed upon the beaches of Europe at some point in history, nor are they something that was established by way of treaty between nation states. Religious freedoms have evolved in Europe’s national cultures that all rest on the same bedrock of a European civilization heavily inspired by Christianity. On this bedrock diverse national cultures have evolved, but in all these cultures there has been a continued presence, influence, dominance of Christianity.

One of the landmarks of this dominance, literally in this case, is the church tower that stands in every village and in every quarter of large cities in Europe. This dominance of church towers in the skylines of our European towns is important, because it is a physical expression of the dominance of Christianity in our culture. Minarets are - not only in comparison to Christian church towers, but also by their very nature – signs of Islamic dominance. From this viewpoint it is very understandable that a majority of the Swiss people have expressed their support for a minaret ban.

Certainly some will argue that the dominance of Christianity in our culture is something of the past. There may be some truth to this, but these same people will argue that religious freedom is not something of the past. When we recall that pre-dominantly Islamic states do not grant their citizens religious freedoms as do European states, we come to understand that the best guarantee for the continued existence of religious freedoms in Europe lies in maintaining the dominance of Christianity in our culture.

Sincerely,

Jonathan van Tongeren, secretary general

PS: ECPYN is establishing an International Political Working Group on Church, State, Civil Society and the Public Domain (CSCSPD) that wil delve deeper into issues such as these. In the coming week(s) ECPYN.org will offer a podium to both advocates and opponents of the minaret ban from our member organisations in Switzerland, JEDU and JEVP.

Reactions can be sent to reactions @ ecpyn . org

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The Towers of Christendom