European Political Discourse on Multiculturalism, ECHR and the Issues of Religious Symbols

Waseem AHAD

Abstract
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)’s previous rulings on use of religious symbols have been seriously questioned by scholars as politically motivated. They argue that the rulings are continuation European Enlightenment period worldview through which they homogenize rest of the world under their static gaze. ECHR’s ruling regarding religious symbols are part of the political discourse that existes outside the court. This paper focuses on ECHR’s contradiction in compromising secularism with democracy within Christian dominated Europe in the light of few cases involving Muslim women. The paper argues that while forming ruling the court puts Christian culture at subject position in Europe and Muslim as an object, alien, outside.

Keywords: ECHR, religious symbols, political discourse, secularism, Christian culture, Muslim.