About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

14 Int'l J. on Minority & Group Rts. 25 (2007)
Making a Mountain out of Molehill: The Protection of the Right to the Freedom of Religion of the Muslim Religious Minority in Kenya's Constitution

handle is hein.journals/ijmgr14 and id is 29 raw text is: b5o55A11A11 Muu MARTINUS NIJHOFF a-Rt-2 7 PUB LI S HERS International Journal on Minority and Group Rights 14 (2007) 25-57 ,.bril.nlhigr Making a Mountain out of a Molehill: The Protection of the Right to the Freedom of Religion of the Muslim Religious Minority in Kenya's Constitution Attiya Waris* 1. Introduction The role of constitutions in systems where Islamic law is applied remains a point of contention.' That there should be the right to freedom of religion remains an integral and undisputed part of international human rights instruments and national bills of rights.2 This right to freedom of religion is however broken into first, the extent to which a particular religion may be recognised by a state3 and secondly the freedom to exercise it.4 In addition, the modern state has taken over functions previously undertaken by the Church, like education and health. When the court began removing issues of religion from government institutions, apprehension that this would result in the public marginalisation of other * Assistant Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Nairobi and Advocate of the High Court of Kenya. This paper was presented at the 'International Symposium on Islamic Civilisation in Southern Africa' between the 1-3 September 2006 at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa and organised jointly by the Organisation of The Islamic Conference Research Centre For Islamic History, Art And Culture, Awqaf (South Africa) and the University of Johannesburg. 1) A. E. Mayer, 'A Critique of An-Naim's Assessment of Islamic Criminal Justice', in T Lindholm and K. Vogt (eds.), Islamic Law Reforrm and Human Rights: Challenges and Rejoinders (Nordic Human Rights Publications, Oslo, 1993) p. 49. 2) It was in reaction to religious persecution by the state that the idea of human rights first devel- oped. See J. Rawls, Political Liberalism, The John Dewey Essays in Philosophy (Columbia University Press, New York, 1993) VI. 3) In the past year the UK recognised the right of its marine officers to practice Satanism. See article by Helen Carter in the Guardian 25 October 2004, 'The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: Navy gives blessing to sailor Satanist' <www.guardian.co.uk/military/story/0, 11816,1335336,00.html>, accessed 13/10/05. 4) Engel V Vitale 370 Us 421 (1962) 431 where the United States Supreme Court said when the power, prestige, and financial support of government is placed behind a particular religious belief, the indi- rect coercive pressure upon religious minorities to conform to the officially approved religion is plain. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2007 DOI: 10.1163/138548707X181548

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most