ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the integration of the Muslim minority into the legal system of Switzerland. Apart from the right to religious freedom and belief, which is guaranteed in the Swiss constitution, religious communities are granted on the cantonal level a special legal status (called ‘recognition under public law’) which comes with several rights and privileges. For political reasons, however, this status is rarely granted to migrant religions. It was designed in the middle of the 20th century to grant an equal status to the main Christian churches but seems to be partly outdated. As a consequence, minority religions like Islam remain on the cantonal level out of the legal and societal system. In order to compensate this, in the last years local administrations have developed alternative ways for the integration of minority religions. They can be perceived as a shift away from the traditional instruments with which the Swiss State and cantons used to regulate its relations with religious communities.
