Islam under the rule of law in Europe: how consistent is the human rights test?

This contribution draws attention to human rights as an instrument of justice to deal with requests that are either made directly or may prove indirectly to be relevant to Muslims who claim the protection of freedom of religion and faith in contemporary European societies. The analysis is distributed over two distinct but complementary illustrations of such claims. The position defended here is that the key to a successful multicultural society lies in enabling adherents of all religions and beliefs, and thus also Muslims, to participate to the same extent, fully and actively, in social life, both as citizens and as private individuals. The challenge lies in finding the balance between looking after the interests of the majority society and meeting the needs and wishes of minority groups and communities, including those communities that are perceived to be ‘new’

Moroccan Women in Europe: Bargaining for Autonomy

This Article explores the path of possibilities offered in the case of Moroccans-in particular women-residing in (continental) Europe to determine, up to a point, the legal regime that will apply to their family life. The vast majority of Moroccans currently living in Europe have retained their original nationality, often combining it with that of the country of habitual residence. Adhesion to Islam often explains the attachment to the family law, which is a religious law, of the country of origin. Family reunifications in many cases mean enduring rootedness in the normative system of the country of origin. With mobility rendered easier by obtaining the nationality of the country of residence (which removes the obligation to obtain visas), an image of a complete and truly transnational community develops, and one which, although deriving part of its identity from European society, often remains very attached to its original culture and legal system. The years spent in Europe do not alter this need to identify in family relations with the culture of origin. The situation is clearly not identical in all cases, and some feel no need to retain roots in the family law of the home country, but prefer instead to apply the law of the land of their habitual residence (in Europe). The situation, in legal terms, is all the more interesting in the case of those who express a desire to remain, in regard to their family life, in alignment with the law of their country of origin. The techniques offered by private international law make it possible, in a number of countries in continental Europe, to fulfill this desire. Without claiming to be exhaustive, this Article explores several possibilities permitting Moroccan men and women residing in continental Europe to marry, as harmoniously as possible, the application of the provisions of Moroccan family law with the demands made by the norms and methods of private international law in the country of their habitual residence. I explore three issues in particular: celebration of marriage, the modelization of the effects of marriage, and the dissolution of marriage

Ordres juridiques et immigration. Le cas des Marocains en Belgique

Ordres juridiques et immigration Le cas des Marocains en BelgiqueLes décisions judiciaires belges rendues ces dernières années dans des affaires de statut personnel mettant en cause des musulmans se multiplient. L'intérêt pratique suscité en Belgique par le droit familial musulman est lié à la persistance de la règle de conflit de lois de l'article 3, al. 3 du Code civil belge, qui autorise un régime libéral de reconnaissance en matière d'état et de capacité d'étrangers. Cette règle ouvre sur des difficultés d'harmonisation d'un droit substantiel demeuré très dépendant de ses origines coraniques avec les exigences d'un ordre juridique belge sécularisé. Au-delà des conflits techniques de lois, d'autorités et de juridictions, le présent article s'intéresse à une disjonction qui n'est pas limitée aux codes juridiques mais dont ceux-ci offrent un exemple probant : celui de l'inadéquation du droit comme instrument de communication entre cultures.Legal Pluralism and Immigration : The Case of Moroccans in BelgiumLaw case in Belgium involving Muslims and affecting personal status have multiplied over the past few years. The practical interest in Belgium of Muslim family law derives from the persistence of the rule on conflicts of laws in article 3, paragraphe 3 of the Belgian Civil Law Code. This provision authorizes a liberal treatment and the recognition of foreign personal status. It leads to difficulties in harmonizing a law that fundamentally remains very dependent on its coranic origin, with the prescriptions of the secularized Belgian code. Going beyond the technical details of the conflict on law codes, authorities and jurisdictions, this study focuses upon an incompatibility. This incompatibility is not limited to the law codes. The inadequacies of the law are seen here as an exemple of the problem of communication between cultures