ECHR Upholds Belgian Ban on Ritual Slaughter, Sparking Religious Freedom Debate

In its decision, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the Walloon and Flemish ban on slaughtering animals without prior stunning is not in contradiction with the European Convention on Human Rights, thus rejecting the arguments of some twenty Jewish and Muslim personalities and organizations in Belgium. Some of them did not fail to react to this ruling. The Executive of Muslims of Belgium (EMB) and the Council for the Coordination of Islamic Institutions in Belgium, who say they have taken note of the ruling handed down on Tuesday in Strasbourg with great disappointment, denounce the fact that the religious freedoms guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations and the European Convention on Human Rights are "constantly the subject of restrictions when it comes to the religious freedoms of Muslims through the adoption of new laws and court decisions that confirm them."

"The Muslim community in Belgium is concerned and wonders how far these restrictions on their religious freedoms will go, which further reinforce the feeling of rejection and the discriminatory treatment of which it is a victim," add the two Muslim organizations. Dissatisfied with this decision, they have decided to appeal before the Grand Chamber of the Court. The latter will be able to note that the Court "has wrongly ignored the fundamental and practical obstacles that the ban creates for Muslims in Belgium," they hope.

The European Jewish Association (EJA) criticizes, for its part, a ruling that has "deeply shocked" it, as it "goes against human rights, freedom of religion and worship of Jews and Muslims." "The implicit determination of the distorted verdict is that the rights of these citizens to freedom of religion and worship are even less important than those of animals," denounces its president, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, quoted in a press release. The EJA "calls on the Belgian government and all other governments and parliaments on the continent to immediately take all necessary measures to amend this discriminatory decision against Jews and Muslims." The EJA’s "European Leader’s Forum for Combatting Antisemitism", in a letter addressed to European heads of state, called on governments and parliaments "to enact laws that commit to maintaining the freedom of religion and worship of the continent’s citizens, including kosher and halal slaughter."