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Abstract
This inquiry examines how religious illiteracy amongst politicians, legislators, lawyers, and judges could lead to discriminatory legislations and increased persecution against religious minorities. We look at laws and legislations in three contexts, Quebec, the USA, and India, where anti-religious sentiments and violence are predominantly directed against Muslims. More specifically, we examine Quebec’s legal attempts, in the form of exclusive laïcité, to regulate religion and religious signs within the province; the recent ruling about converting the Babri mosque in India into a Hindu Temple; and anti-Shariah laws in the United States. Taken together, these justifications for anti-Muslim bills perpetuated illiteracy about both religion and the legal systems, leading the conditions for discrimination against religious minorities. We conclude that religious illiteracy, more specifically on the level of judiciaries and legislative bodies, presents a pressing threat to the safety and wellbeing of religious minorities, Muslims in particular, around the world.
Keywords:
Notes
1 Pew Forum, “Religious Hostilities Reach Six-Year High,” Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project (blog), January 14, 2014, https://www.pewforum.org/2014/01/14/religious-hostilities-reach-six-year-high/.
2 Diane Moore, “Four Principles,” Harvard Religious Literacy Project, https://rlp.hds.harvard.edu/our-approach/four-principles.
3 Brian J. Grim and Roger Finke, “Religious Persecution in Cross-National Context: Clashing Civilizations or Regulated Religious Economies?” American Sociological Review 72, no. 4 (August 1, 2007): 636, n.2
4 Ibid.
5 Jonathan Fox, Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me: Why Governments Discriminate against Minorities (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020), Chapter 1.
6 Anthony James Gill, The Political Origins of Religious Liberty, Cambridge Studies in Social Theory, Religion, and Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008), 8.
7 M. Burchardt, Regulating Difference: Religious Diversity and Nationhood in the Secular West (New Brunswick, Camden; Newark, New Jersey; London: Rutgers University Press, 2020), 47–92. S. Ismail, “Muslim Public Self-Presentation: Interrogating the Liberal Public Sphere.” PS: Political Science and Politics, 41, no. 1 (2008): 25–29. Retrieved July 18, 2020, from jstor-jac.orc.scoolaid.net/stable/20452105.
8 G. Bouchard and C. Taylor, “Building the Future: A Time for Reconciliation.” Quebec City, Canada: Commission de consultation sur les pratiques d’accommodement reliées aux différences culturelles, 2008, from https://numerique.banq.qc.ca/patrimoine/details/52327/1565995.
9 C. Joppke and J. Torpey, Legal Integration of Islam (Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England: Harvard University Press, 2013), pp. 89–113.
10 T. Giasson, C. Brin, and M. Sauvageau, "Le Bon, la Brute et le Raciste. Analyse de la couverture médiatique de l'opinion publique pendant la «crise» des accommodements raisonnables au Québec.” Revue Canadienne De Science Politique [Canadian Journal of Political Science], 43, no. 2 (2010): 379–406. Retrieved July 18, 2020, from jstor-jac.orc.scoolaid.net/stable/20743154; M. McAndrew and M. Bakhshaei, “The Difficult Integration of Muslims into Québec Since 9/11: International or Local Dynamics?” International Journal, 67, no. 4 (2012): 931–949. Retrieved July 18, 2020, from jstor-jac.orc.scoolaid.net/stable/42704940; H. Tiflati, “Muslim Youth Between Quebecness and Canadiannes: Religiosity, Identity, Citizenship, and Belonging.” Canadian Ethnic Studies, 49, no. 1 (2017): 1–17.
11 V. Stoker, “Zero Tolerance? Sikh Swords, School Safety, and Secularism in Québec.” Journal of the American Academy of religion, 75, no. 4 (2007): 814–839. Retrieved July 18, 2020, from jstor-jac.orc.scoolaid.net/stable/40005964; M. McAndrew and M. Bakhshaei, “The Difficult Integration of Muslims into Québec Since 9/11: International or local dynamics?” International Journal Vol. 67, No. 4, “Canada after 9/11” (Autumn 2012), pp. 931-949.
12 Burchardt, 2020.
13 Joppke and Torpey, 2013.
14 P. Bégin. “La charia ou les tribunaux islamiques – L'État québécois doit se prononcer. Et clairement contre!” Montreal: Le Devoir, 2005, 334, from https://www.ledevoir.com/opinion/idees/72348/la-charia-ou-les-tribunaux-islamiques-l-etat-quebecois-doit-se-prononcer-et-clairement-contre
15 J. Selby, “Promoting the Everyday: Pro-Sharia Advocacy and Public Relations in Ontario, Canada’s ‘Sharia Debate.’” Religions, 4 (2013): 423–444. Retrieved August 14, 2020, from http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel4030423/
16 Joppke and Torpey, 2013.
17 H. Robertson, “Bend It like Azzy.” The Phi Delta Kappan, 88, no. 9 (2007): 716–717. Retrieved July 18, 2020, from jstor-jac.orc.scoolaid.net/stable/20442368.
18 A relatively homogenous, white settler town 165 kilometres northwest of Montreal.
19 S. Ismail, “Muslim Public Self-Presentation: Interrogating the Liberal Public Sphere.” PS: Political Science and Politics,41, no. 1 (2008): 25–29. Retrieved July 18, 2020, from jstor-jac.orc.scoolaid.net/stable/20452105; Joppke & Torpey, 2013
20 Giasson et al., 2010.
21 Ibid.
22 Though the Quebec premier had insisted that the crucifix is there to say, it was removed from City Hall in July 2019 during renovations and is slated to be on display in another room in the Assembly for visitors to see.
23 M. Sharify-Funk, Governing the Face Veil: Quebec’s Bill 94 and the Transnational Politics of Women’s Identity. International Journal of Canadian Studies, Issue 43, 2011, p. 135–163.
24 The Quiet Revolution (la Révolution tranquille) was a rapid period of social, cultural, and political change in Québec during the 1960s, and which led to the secularization of the state’s institutions. For more on the Quiet Revolution, see M. D. Behiels, Prelude to Quebec’s Quiet Revolution: Liberalism versus neo-nationalism, 1945 1960 (Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1985); A. Gagnon and M. B. Montcalm, Quebec: Beyond the Quiet Revolution (Nelson, Canada: Scarborough, 1990).
25 Burchardt, 2020.
26 M. Steuter-Martin, “Bill 62: Quebec Releases Criteria for Requesting, Granting Religious Accommodation,” 2018, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-bill-62-guidelines-accommodations-1.4655620.
27 CBC, “Quebec Announces $20M in Funds to Preserve Province’s Religious Heritage,” 2019, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-religious-heritage-funding-1.5236410.
28 E. Elsheikh, B. Sisemore and N. Ramirez Lee, Legalizing Othering: The United States and Islamophobia (Berkeley, CA: Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society, University of California, 2017a); E. Elsheikh, B. Sisemore and N. Ramirez Lee, The United States of Islamophobia Database (Berkeley, CA: Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society, University of California, 2017b); E. Pilkington, “Anti-Sharia Laws Proliferate as Trump Strikes Hostile Tone Toward Muslims” (London: The Guardian, December 30, 2017).
29 T. Cohn and J. O’Neill, Enslaved and Muslim in Early America , Sidedoor podcast, season 2 episode 17 (Washington, DC: Smithsonian, 2018, January 31).
30 The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1791) states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
31 Jenna Johnson and Abigail Hauslohner, “‘I think Islam Hates Us’: A Timeline of Trump’s Comments about Islam and Muslims” (Washington, DC: The Washington Post, 2017, May 20).
32 Elsheikh et al., 2017a
33 Awad v. Ziriax, et al. No. 10-6273 (10th Cir. 2012).
34 Arkansas HB1041 (2017). To Protect the Rights and Privileges Granted Under the Arkansas Constitution and the United States Constitution; and to Declare American Laws for American Courts. Signed into law April 6, 2017 as Arkansas Act 980; and Texas HB 45 (2017). Relating to requiring the Texas Supreme Court to adopt rules and provide judicial instruction regarding the application of foreign laws in certain family law cases. Signed into law June 14, 2017.
35 K. Murphy. “Kansas Governor Signs Bill Effectively Banning Islamic Law” (New York: Reuters, May 25, 2012).
36 M. Smith, “After Long Wait in Kansas, Gov. Sam Brownback Gets Ambassadorship” (New York: The New York Times, January 24, 2018).
37 Anti-Muslim sentiments, as many scholars have noted, is also racialized. See Sylvia Chan-Malik, Being Muslim: A Cultural History of Women of Color in American Islam (New York: New York University Press, 2018).
38 J. Wybraniec and R. Finke, “Religious Regulation and the Courts: The judiciary’s Changing Role in Protecting Minority Religions from Majoritarian Rule” in Regulating Religion: Case Studies from Around the Globe, ed. James T. Richardson (New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 2004), 535–553.
39 Holt v. Hobbs was filed under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person’s Act; EEOC v. Abercrombie was filed under Title VII under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and sidestepped the direct question about religious discrimination against a hijab-wearing job applicant and instead held that the store had the burden of notifying the applicants about their “look” policy.
40 S. Rizzo, “The Facts about Trump’s Policy of Separating Families at the Border” (Washington, DC: The Washington Post, June 19, 2018).
41 “White Supremacist Extremism Poses Persistent Threat of Lethal Violence,” Joint Intelligence Bulletin of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Homeland Security, IA-0154-17, May 10 2017. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3924852-White-Supremacist-Extremism-JIB.html.
42 “Countering Violent Extremism: Actions Needed to Define Strategy and Assess Progress of Federal Efforts,” Washington, DC: Government Accountability Office, GAO-17-300, April 2017. https://www.gao.gov/assets/690/683984.pdf.
43 Ellen Nakashima, “Trump administration draws fire for ‘misleading’ report linking terrorism, immigration” (Washington, DC: The Washington Post, September 13, 2018).
44 The original ban was against people from seven majority-Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, and Libya.” After being blocked by federal courts for showing religious animosity, the Trump administration removed Iraq and allowed for Syrian refugees to enter the US. Again, blocked by the courts, the third revision added Chad, a Muslim-majority country, and included two non-majority Muslim countries, North Korea and Venezuela.
45 International Refugee Assistance Project IRAP v. Trump, 883 F.3d 233 at 60 (4th Cir., 2018).
46 Ibid., at 69.
47 Trump v. Hawaii, 585 U.S. (2018).
48 FBI, Hate Crime Summary of 2016: Hate Crime Statistics (Washington, DC: Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2017); K. Kishi, Assaults Against Muslims in U.S. Surpass 2001 Level (Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, 2017); D. Mogahed and Y. Chouhoud American Muslim Poll 2017: Muslims at the Crossroads (Washington, DC: Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, 2017); K. Müller and C. Schwarz, Making America Hate Again? Twitter and Hate Crime Under Trump (SSRN, 2018, from https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3149103).
49 Müller and Schwarz”, 2018.
50 Ayal Feinberg, Regina Branton, and Valerie Martinez-Ebers, “Counties that Hosted a 2016 Trump Rally Saw a 226 Percent Increase in Hate Crimes” (Washington, DC: The Washington Post, March 22, 2019)
51 ACLU, Nationwide Anti-Mosque Activity (New York, NY: American Civil Liberties Union, 2019).
52 Ibid.
53 FBI, 2017.
54 Kishi, 2017.
55 Z. Arain. Targeted: 2018 Civil Rights Report (Washington, DC: Council on American–Islamic Relations, 2018).
56 Japnam Bindra, “Ayodhya Verdict: Temple at Disputed Site, Alternative Land for Mosque, Says Supreme Court,” livemint, November 9, 2019, https://www.livemint.com/news/india/supreme-court-delivers-final-verdict-in-ayodhya-land-dispute-case-11573294452633.html.
57 India Post News Weekly, “Somnath: Looted, destroyed, and resurrected 17 times,” India Post, July 6, 2012, https://www.indiapost.com/somnath-looted-destroyed-and-resurrected-17-times/.
58 Staff writer, “Why the ‘hum paanch, hamare pachees’ canard against Muslims is a myth,” Sabrang, February 27, 2017, fromhttps://www.sabrangindia.in/tags/hum-panch-hamare-pachees-myth.
59 Romila Thapar, Early India: From the Origins to 1300 AD (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2004).
60 Patrick S. Roberts, “How Teaching World Religions Brought A Truce to the Culture Wars in Modesto, California,” British Journal of Education 31, no. 9 (September 2009): 187–199.