Sharía as the applicable set of laws by virtue of religious freedom?

Authors

  • María José Roca Fernández

Keywords:

Islamic Law, religious freedom, legal system, apostasy, Islamic communities in Spain.

Abstract

It is no possible to consider that the Sharia is applicable in a WesternState. Through an institutional way (the relationship between legal systems) the Sharia’s force is not possible as a result of the lack of autonomy of the religion and Law in Islam with regard to the State. Through a personal way (the fundamental right of religious freedom) we can come to the conclusion that this right enables, from the Western perspective, the free exercise of the Religion. However, its legal effectiveness is limited and so it does not let believers of any religion changes Spanish legal rules, even if Sharia rules are infringed. This behaviour would be against the Western concept of religious freedom, that includes the autonomy in the field of secular matters with regard to Religion. It would also be against the principle of equality before the Law. Both dualist principle about the separation between secular and religious matters, and the equality principle before the Law and before the application of the Law are part of the Western cultural identity. The regard for pluralism is also typical of the Western culture. But pluralism can’t destroy our culture.

Issue

Section

STUDIES