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Recommendation 1927 (2010) Final version
Islam, Islamism and Islamophobia in Europe
1. Referring to its Resolution 1743 (2010) on
Islam, Islamism and Islamophobia in Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly
emphasises the particular importance for the Council of Europe and
its member states of increasing their action in this field. Under
its Statute, it is a priority task for the Council of Europe to
work towards ensuring freedom of thought, conscience and religion
while combating religious intolerance and discrimination as well
as religiously disguised attacks against the values it upholds.
Member states should be guided by this recommendation and Resolution 1743 (2010).
2. In order to construct on a daily basis a democratic society
governed by the rule of law and universal human rights, the Council
of Europe must step up its efforts to embed those values in European
culture. Cultural and educational action by the Council of Europe
is a necessary condition for both European integration based on
common values and full understanding and respect for human rights,
including political, social and cultural rights and freedoms. The
Council of Europe should also seek to encourage other parts of the
world to adopt and promote the values it upholds.
3. Because of its Statute, geographical remit and experience,
the Council of Europe should serve as the pan-European forum for
discussing common strategies for strengthening democratic stability
faced with Islamism, Islamophobia and other forms of political extremism
in Europe. Therefore, the Assembly asks that the Committee of Ministers:
3.1. ensure, through the general
budget and voluntary contributions, that adequate funding is available
for standard-setting and assistance and co-operation activities
for member states and neighbouring regions in the fields of culture
and education as well as migration and refugees;
3.2. reinforce its activities to ensure that knowledge about
Islam and other beliefs is taught at school and through lifelong
education and that institutions of higher education and research
in Europe provide Islamic studies in order to educate religious
scholars, teachers and leaders;
3.3. seek to enlarge geographically the Council of Europe treaties
in the field of culture and education by opening them for signature
by non-member states, in particular states from Eurasia, North Africa
and the Middle East; this is particularly important with regard
to the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning
Higher Education in the European Region (ETS No. 165), the Council
of Europe Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage
for Society (CETS No. 199) and the European Convention on Transfrontier
Television (ETS No. 132) and its Amending Protocol (ETS No. 171);
3.4. study the possibility of opening the geographical scope
of the European Cultural Convention (ETS No. 18) to non-European
states, for instance by drafting a protocol on education for human
rights and democracy to this convention;
3.5. actively seek accession by states in North Africa and
the Middle East to the Council of Europe’s European Centre for Global
Interdependence and Solidarity (North-South Centre) and, in particular,
reinforce the programmes dealing with gender equality, specifically
the combating of all forms of violence against women and the promotion
of women’s participation in public decision making. In this context,
the Assembly welcomes the accession of Morocco and Cape Verde to
the North-South Centre;
3.6. consider opening the European Commission against Racism
and Intolerance (ECRI) to participation by non-member states, in
particular from North Africa, the Middle East and Eurasia;
3.7. consider opening the European Outline Convention on Transfrontier
Co-operation between Territorial Communities or Authorities (ETS
No. 106) for signature by non-member states, in particular from
North Africa, the Middle East and Eurasia;
3.8. set up joint programmes of activities of the Council of
Europe with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations;
3.9. continue its important action on intercultural dialogue
and its religious dimension, in particular its regular “exchanges
on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue”, and further
the involvement of the Assembly in order to enhance the role of
interparliamentary co-operation in this process;
3.10. call on member states which have not already done so to
sign and ratify the European Convention on the Legal Status of Migrant
Workers (ETS No. 93) and the Convention on the Participation of Foreigners
in Public Life at Local Level (ETS No. 144); the social and political
inclusion of migrants and foreigners, who are often Muslims, will
be essential for democratic cohesion and stability;
3.11. seek to develop common political approaches by all member
states towards non-European states which support Islamism in Europe
and call, in this context, on member states which have not yet done so
to sign and ratify the European Convention on the Suppression of
Terrorism (ETS No. 90) and its Amending Protocol (ETS No. 190) and
the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism (CETS
No. 196) in order to strengthen political and legal co-operation
in this area;
3.12. call on Switzerland to enact a moratorium on, and to repeal
as soon as possible, its general prohibition on the construction
of minarets for mosques, which discriminates against Muslim communities
under Articles 9 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights
(ETS No. 5); the construction of minarets must be possible in the
same way as the construction of church towers, subject to the requirements
of public security and town planning;
3.13. call on member states not to establish a general ban of
full veiling or other religious or special clothing, but to protect
women from all physical and psychological duress as well as to protect
their free choice to wear religious or special clothing and ensure
equal opportunities for Muslim women to participate in public life
and pursue education and professional activities; legal restrictions
on this freedom may be justified where necessary in a democratic
society, in particular for security purposes or where public or
professional functions of individuals require their religious neutrality
or that their face can be seen;
3.14. step up efforts to ensure that a convention to combat
violence against women, including domestic violence, comes into
being as swiftly as possible;
3.15. invite states to guarantee women’s freedom of expression
by penalising, on the one hand, all forms of coercion, oppression
or violence that compel women to wear the veil or the full veil,
and by creating, on the other hand, social and economic conditions
enabling women to make informed choices though the promotion of
genuine policies on equal opportunities for women and men which
embody access to education, training, employment and housing.