GATESTONE INSTITUTE: The ruling denotes a step forward in the continuing efforts to establish Islam as a mainstream religious and political system in Spain.
The Spanish Supreme Court has ruled that a municipal ordinance banning the wearing of Islamic burqas in public spaces is unconstitutional.
In its 56-page ruling, made public on February 28, the Madrid-based Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo) said the Catalan city of Lérida exceeded its authority when, in December 2010, it imposed a burqa ban.
The court said the ban on burqas, a traditional Islamic costume that covers women from head to toe, "constitutes a limitation to the fundamental right to the exercise of the freedom of religion, which is guaranteed by the Spanish Constitution." The court said that the limitation of a fundamental right can only be achieved through laws at the national level, not through local ordinances.
The decision, which the court said addressed a "profoundly political problem," represents a significant victory for Muslims in Spain. Although it is unclear how many women actually wear the burqa there, the ruling denotes a step forward in the continuing efforts to establish Islam as a mainstream religious and political system in Spain.
In recent years, more than a dozen municipalities in Spain have enacted burqa bans and other legal measures to push back against the ongoing Islamization of Spanish society. The rise of Islam has been especially notable in the Spanish autonomous region of Catalonia, home to the largest concentration of radical Islamists in Europe, and which has emerged as ground-zero for Salafi-Jihadism on the continent. » | Soeren Kern | Monday, March 04, 2013
