Freedom or religion or promotion of this freedom is the best fight against extremism, while there is no justification for the emergence of extremism; these are tentative conclusions of the session held in the Gazi Husrev-Bey’s Library in Sarajevo on the occasion of the visit by the professor from Norwegian Center for Human Rights Oslo Tore Lindholm.
Tore Lindholm gave an introduction to the topic “Freedom of Religion and Belief at the Time of Fighting Extremism and Terrorism”.
Lindholm’s thesis is that, at the time of the emergence of ISIL, an important role should be played by Muslim intellectuals, philosophers, by condemning ISIL’s terrorist activities. There must exist a responsible, grounded Islamic voice against, Lindholm believes. That is a challenge, but it is not a conflict with the freedom of religion and belief. Enemies of Islam are those who misuse it, he said.
Lindholm reminded of the acts of Universal and European Convention on Human Rights which guarantee each human being the unlimited right to freedom of religion or belief. Right to external manifestation of religion or belief is also guaranteed, but some restrictions are allowed here if they are stipulated by law with the aim of protecting public safety, for example, or public order, health, moral, and other people’s rights. There must be no excess in allowed restrictions, Lindholm highlighted.
There is no religion which gives a mandate to the terrifying occurrence of terrorism. Terrorism must be forbidden by law, Lindholm said.
Professor Fikret Karčić from the Faculty of Law Sarajevo, who commented on the lecture by the colleague from Oslo, reminded of the research by Berkley Center at Georgetown University in the United States, intended to answer the question – is the prevention of freedom of religion related to religiously motivated extremism? In Professor Karčić’s opinion, the answer is yes.
Response of the state to violent extremism must be wholesome (including both causes and consequences), flexible in a way that countries create it in accordance with their own circumstances, and coordinated in terms of encompassing different social segments, Karčić concluded.
(Source: novovrijeme.ba)
