ABSTRACT
This paper examines the reasons why the European Court of Human Rights remains ineffective in protecting the freedom of religion, especially as this issue applies to Muslims. I discuss these reasons under four broad categories: religion-specific, non-Christian religion-specific, and Islam-specific. First, there are problems that adversely affect everyone's freedom of religion. Despite expansive rights for the freedom of religion and belief that are provided in the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Court has devised some methods that largely limit the scope of these rights. Second, these problems are much more salient in the Court's dealings with non-Christian religious traditions. Third, I claim that among these non-Christian relations, the Court's handling of cases involving Muslims is particularly problematic because of fears both about Islam and Muslim visibility and demands. Fourth, the Court's desire to promote the principle of secularism has allowed it to ignore government's "assertive secular" policies even when such policies conflicted with human rights of Muslim individuals.
