New law in Slovakia adds to hostile environment for Muslims in central Europe

It has become harder for any religious organisation in Slovakia to become a state-registered religion. A law, passed by the Slovakian parliament in late November, was proposed by the right wing and anti-Islam Slovenská Národná Strana (SNS) or Slovak National Party and came into force on January 1. It prohibits any religion from becoming state-registered unless it can prove to have at least 50,000 followers who are 18 and over and have permanent residency in Slovakia – a significant mark up from the current 20,000.

The SNS is one of the four coalition parties in government and the new law has been part of its manifesto for a couple of years. It was proposed in a press release following the Paris terrorist attacks in January 2015 by SNS chairman Andrej Danko, who also declared that Slovakia should ban burqas and mosques.

There are currently around 2,000 Muslim people living in Slovakia out of a population of 5.4m and many will not have a permanent residency status – which is not easy to get in Slovakia. So while Muslims will not be directly affected by the new law, it will make it harder for Islam to register as a religion in the future. The law should be seen as a preemptive measure ahead of more Muslim refugees and migrants arriving in Europe in the future, and pressure for European countries to take some of them in through a quota system.

What the law means

State-registered religions enjoy substantial privileges in Slovakia including the right to build places of worship, set up and teach their religion in schools and conduct marriage and funeral ceremonies. Crucially, they have access to state funding to be able to carry all this out and also to organise and support outreach activities and public engagement.

Before the new law, there were 18 state-registered religions mostly of Christian origin with the exception of one Jewish and one Bahai organisation. The legislation does not affect organisations already registered even if some of them have only few thousand members.

The SNS insists that the law does not target any specific religion, arguing instead it is there to prevent bogus organisations such as the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster from gaining access to state funding. This church is a social movement recognised in the Netherlands, New Zealand and Poland.

The new law does not specifically mention Islam and has no immediate effect on Muslims in Slovakia. But reading between the lines there is little doubt that the legislation targets Islam.

The move was covered widely in foreign media in the UK, Czech Republic and Poland as a law banning Islam, accompanied by pictures of women in niqabs or burqas. But these reports are misleading: Slovakia has not banned Islam. It prohibit any mosques with minarets from being built. This means that existing places of worship must remain prayer rooms, rather than mosques with a minaret.

There was some opposition to the legislation within Slovakia. Ondrej Dostál, chairman of the Civic Conservative Party, was very critical, but was slammed by many in Slovakia especially the right-wing parties, for being ignorant and defending Islam.

The law passed with a two-thirds majority in Slovakia’s parliament. Miroslav Petrasko via flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

Slovakia is a liberal democracy and a member of the EU with legislation protecting religious groups and minorities, yet the right-wing SNS managed to mobilise and pass the law in parliament with a two-thirds majority. At a press conference after the law was passed, the SNS repeatedly claimed that the law follows a party promise to its electorate and does not violate religious freedom.

When asked by a journalist if this was about Islam, Tibor Bernaťák, deputy leader of the SNS, categorically denied it. His colleague and MP Eva Smolíková spoke of the increasing pressure on state funding and the need to direct funds to Slovak education and healthcare. By pushing through the legislation, the SNS has presented itself as a rational party with a Christian system of values that is increasingly being seen as a force to be recognised within the ruling coalition. It is aiming to increase its appeal with Slovaks who question whether the mainstream parties have the best interests of Slovak people at heart.

A European trend

The new law will send a strong message to Muslims living in Slovakia and other parts of Europe, but also any potential refugees and asylum seekers considering making Slovakia their home. The trend could also spread to the rest of Europe where right-wing politicians are pressurising mainstream parties to accept controversial policies affecting minority groups particularly when it comes to Islam. Examples include burkini, burqa and niqab bans in public places in France, burqa bans in public places in Belgium, Switzerland and Bulgaria, where it was driven by the right-wing patriotic front coalition.

In 2011, Hungary’s Fidesz Party passed a law that changed the legal status of churches and religious communities that were not recognised as “traditional”. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the law violated human rights in 2014, but it still remains in place. The Czech Republic is also likely to follow Slovakia and increase its current requirement for state-registered religions to have at least 50,000 followers from the current 10,000.

The SNS’s success in getting the law passed in Slovakia shows how there is an opportunity for other right-wing parties in Europe to use legislation and the democratic system to prevent certain “unwanted groups” from getting access to state funding.

Miroslava Hukelova receives funding from Arts and Humanities Research Council.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.