Billy
Having just returned from visiting my daughter in Holland I'd say that this law
will be used to curb run-away Muslim demands and arrogance in the low
countries. Many of the governments of the EU like like the Low Countries are
totally estranged from the population and have become dangerously politically
correct, somewhat like the US government on the issue of illegal immigration. I
found that the people are really tired of the Muslim attitude in their
countries. People like Gert Willders are gaining influence even in England who
has been exceptionally soft of the issue. I found that the average Dutchman is
sick of the whole mess and Belgium also has its movements like Wilders and
these movements are a lot stronger than the MSM in the US tells us. From what I
saw the winds of change are starting to blow. This legislation might be used
against cults like Scientology but there are far too many diverse Christian
religions to expect that there will be any
wide spread discrimination against the evangelicals and other legitimate
Christian sects. The problem of Islam is too big to take a back seat. This
obviously is "back door" legislation to curb the tide of Islam. Many people i
talked to seem to be taking the Islamation of their country very very
seriously. I am sure the Belgians feel the same way. These countries are no
longer as liberal as we once thought, at least on this issue.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
--- On Wed, 6/15/11, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:
From: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Subject: [RC] Religious Restriction Law in Belgium --elsewhere in the future ?
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Date: Wednesday, June 15, 2011, 6:20 PM
Easy to see this as restrictive toward Islam, BUT my best guess is that
Muslims won't be touched and that this is directed against Evangelicals
and various "cults" like Scientology.
BR
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Discriminatory Draft Law in Belgium Violates Fundamental Religious Rights
("Joseph K. Grieboski," June 14, 2011)
Proposed legislation in Belgium contains provisions specifically designed to
discriminate against targeted religions derogatorily designated as "sectarian
movements". This draft law is designed to "fight" against religious minorities
through the creation of a new penal offense based not on the criminal
activities of such groups, but on the character of their beliefs and religious
doctrines.
An individual's choice to convert to one of these faiths is characterized as
"abuse of weakness". The draft law would amend the penal code and criminalize
the manifestation of religious beliefs by labeling religious practices of
targeted faiths as "psychological subjection" or "techniques susceptible to
alter one's capacity of discernment".
The new offense would require an assessment by law enforcement authorities and
Courts of the validity of religious practices and beliefs in order to determine
whether they constitute an "abuse" or not. Such a determination would allow
discrimination of minority faiths considered as "sectarian" as opposed to
religions with traditional beliefs. This would represent an impermissible
violation of the international human rights commitments signed by Belgium,
which mandate non-discrimination on religious grounds and freedom of religion
and belief for all religions.
Passage of such legislation would represent a serious impairment of the
principle of religious freedom and the principle that the law has to be precise
and foreseeable, guaranteed under Belgian law and international legal norms, as
the Belgian Council of State noted in its opinion on similar draft laws in 2006
and 2009.
The proposed legislation is inspired by the much-criticized French law of 12
June 2001, known as the "About-Picard Law", which allows for the imposition of
restrictions on religious groups based on a new offense of "abuse of a state of
ignorance or weakness", an offense unprecedented in Europe in modern times. The
French legislation aroused international condemnation from religious, human
rights and inter-faith organizations as well as a recommendation by the Council
of Europe that France reconsider the law.
International legal standards mandate that new religions or religious
minorities that may be viewed with hostility by the majority or by predominant
religions be treated the same as other religions. These standards also mandate
a spirit of tolerance toward minority movements. Yet, based on discriminatory
theories that have been discredited by authorities and scholars around the
world, the draft legislation adopts a distinctly unequal and intolerant
approach towards religious minorities that would lead Belgium further down a
path of intolerance.
Spearheading the draft legislation is Member of Parliament André Frédéric, who
has led the "fight against" spiritual minorities he derogatorily labels as
"sectarian movements".
Linking the developments of "sects" to the failure of traditional religions, in
particular Catholicism, Frédéric explained that in a society in search of new
values people are "drawn towards a new form of pseudo-spirituality" and only
want one thing: to be guided by nice speeches, "ignoring in their credulity
that their mind is going to be formatted".
In order to combat these new forms of spirituality, Frédéric has proposed new
penal provisions that are about to be examined by the Belgian Parliament in
June 2011 even though they contain provisions that infringe on the rights of
minorities to freedom of belief, conscience and association.
The proposed bill contains two articles inserted by Frédéric to repress the
so-called "sectarian movements".
Article 33 proposes the insertion in the Belgian penal code of a new Article
442 quater. Ironically it comes right after the existing Article 442 ter, which
criminalizes harassment based on the religious or philosophical convictions of
the victim. This new Article 442 quater criminalizes the Abuse of a Situation
of Weakness and provides:
"§1 - Will be sentenced to a jail term going from one month to two years and a
fine from 100 up to 1,000 euros or one of these penalties only, anyone who,
knowing the situation of physical or psychological weakness of a person
altering seriously her capacity of discernment, has fraudulently abused of this
situation so as to get that person to do an act or refrain from doing an act,
this act or omission being highly detrimental to her physical or mental
integrity or to her patrimony."
Then another paragraph follows setting aggravating circumstances:
"§2 - The penalties will be of a jail term going from one month to four years
and a fine from 200 up to 2,000 euros or one of these penalties only in the
following cases: If the act or omission referred to at §1 results from a
physical or psychological subjection due to the exercise of serious and
repeated pressures, or techniques susceptible to alter one's capacity of
discernment. (...) If the abuse referred to at §1 constitutes an act of
participation to the principal or accessory activity of an association.
These articles contravene the right to freedom of religion and belief and the
rule of law under Belgian legislation and the international treaties signed and
ratified by Belgium.
In essence, the draft bill attempts to dissuade people from making particular
religious choices and to penalize religious organizations that manifest their
religion through proselytism and religious practices based on the State's view
on the propriety of those choices.
It is crucial to keep in mind that international law does not establish a place
for the State to assume the role of conscience police.
Religions are not above the law. However, any legitimate concerns are much more
effectively addressed by the enforcement of existing laws on common criminal
activities. Special laws against "sects", on the other hand, are discriminatory
and endanger the religious liberty of every citizen.
The provisions of the draft law intended to criminalize religious practice
contradict the rule of law, violates fundamental rights to freedom of religion
and conscience, including the right to manifest religion, and contravenes the
doctrine of neutrality.
THE INSTITUTE on Religion and Public Policy accordingly urged the Belgium
Parliament in a full analysis of the bill (found here) not to enact the draft
legislation in order to ensure that Belgium complies with the commitments it
has made to the United Nations, European Convention on Human Rights and
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
--
Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community
<[email protected]>
Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism
Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
--
Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community
<[email protected]>
Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism
Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
