ABSTRACT
Freedom of religion is one of the most important human rights, being part of the universal declaration of human rights, part of each Constitution, as it is also in the Italian Constitution. Religion is also an important pillar of civil coexistence in society. Religious freedom has a fundamental role for the integration of individuals and groups. In this respect, religious communities, of a more recent pluralistic range in Italy, are called to play an important role in the construction of civil society.
Italy is now a pluralistic country in which the Islamic religion in the public sphere has claimed more space. The constitutional law allows liberty of religion; however, further legislative measures (ie acts of Parliament) are missing, and many aspects of the fundamental right of freedom of religion remain unfulfilled.
One of the biggest problems of fundamental rights is their effectiveness, and in Italy the process is far from simple. In Italy, the International Forum for Democracy and Religions – FIDR – was promoted to face this challenge in responding to the needs of a multicultural society FIDR is an inter-university Consortium originally founded by five universities. It offers training about constitutional law as well as providing a legal frame in which to explore the major historical and political factors that have contributed to define the orientation of the Italian State concerning religious issues. It also studies contemporary social dynamics – including religion – that concern both the State and the Islamic associations. Finally it aims at exploring the main legal issues related to the exercise of the right to religious freedom, with particular attention given to specific interests of the participants.
The purpose of the Inter-University Centre is to study dynamics across pluralistic societies and research the premises of a shared ethos able to ensure sufficient social cohesion.
The intent of this article is to describe how the mediation process helped the intrareligious interaction between the Islamic associations and communities leaders, who attended the residential sessions during the weekend of study. This has resulted in good practices and practical results.
FIDR works with the model of cooperative learning by networking universities, public institutions, cultural associations and religious communities from a cooperative perspective for identifying which paths are able to harmonise cultural and religious identities of the different socio-legal system in which they are placed. In this model each participant is engaged to share his knowledge.
