ABSTRACT
Postwar Europe is committed to equality, non-discrimination and individual dig-
nity. Nevertheless, recent trends across Europe suggest that commitment is starting
to erode. The integration of a large number of immigrants from Islamic countries
has been challenging. Sometimes, the political response has been excessive. The
Council of Europe, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called
upon European governments to oppose bills aimed at restricting Islamic customs,
such as the use of the full veil, ritual slaughtering and the building of minarets.1 In
the words of the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner, Thomas
Hammarberg, what is needed is nothing less than a ‘‘European Spring to overcome
old and emerging forms of racism and intolerance’’.2
