Alessandro Negri

The theme of the relationship between religious freedom and security has, over the last twenty years, acquired such centrality that hitherto unknown or little-used concepts have entered the public and specialized debates. Prominent among these is regarding the most concrete and important long-term public intervention in the fight against extremism on a religious matrix, i.e., de-radicalization, often simplistically understood as the opposite, or reverse, of a radicalization process. The activity of de-radicalization, therefore, must first be defined in its theoretical sense to grasp its real meaning and objectives; then, it is necessary to identify its content in practice, trying to understand its founding themes and limits. The risk of such a public intervention is interfering with the deepest sphere of the individual, with his or her religiosity and intentions, overstepping the limits derived from the different types of secularism (as Italian laicità or French laïcité) that charac...

SOMMARIO: 1. Multicultural societies and conflicts of loyalty: cultural crimes - 2. The Italian reaction to cultural crimes - 3. The case of kirpan: the recent judgment of the Court of Cassation - 4. A questionable decision: the fundamental role of pluralism in Western societies - 5. Conclusions: the centrality of human dignity. ABSTRACT: Pluralist societies pose new challenges to legal systems, having to find trade-offs between accommodating the necessities of minorities and security concerns. Religions often impose prescriptive rules on the behaviour of their believers, leading to moral internal conflicts when these lead to break State laws. In Italy, this subject was already discussed between legal scholars, before it received large public attention in 2017, where a judgement of the Cassation Court has upheld the conviction of a Sikh indian for withholding a kirpan, a ritual dagger central to his faith. This work provides an overview of the debate raised by the ruling, with parti...

SOMMARIO: 1. Carcere e religione - 2. Pluralismo religioso e istanze di sicurezza - 3. Strategie di contrasto al proselitismo e alla radicalizzazione jihadista - 4. Gli ‘indicatori sulla radicalizzazione’ - 5. Le questioni aperte: prevenzione e de-radicalizzazione - 6. Cosa fare.Between religious freedom and security issues: the prevention of jihadist radicalisation in prisonABSTRACT: Faith constitutes an essential aspect of prison life. Its relevance has been emphasised in recent times because of the religious pluralism that characterises the current prison population. In this scenario, the rise of jihadist terrorism has shed light on the problem of radicalisation in prison, already known and studied by the experts, which poses new challenges for policymakers, prison staff, and detainees. Prison Administration has been focused on religious freedom, its boundaries and its relationship with religious extremism and has already adopted some measures to combat and monitor jihadist prose...

SOMMARIO: 1. Le Sharia court: origini, attivita e scopi - 2. Alcuni dati statistici - 3. Un’ulteriore evoluzione: l’Arbitration Act e il Muslim Arbitration Tribunal - 4. Il discorso dell’arcivescovo di Canterbury e reazioni - 5. Il Private Members’ Bill della baronessa Cox - 6. La risposta dell’Islamic Sharia Council - 7. Un dibattito ancora in corso: Friend or Foe? Sharia Courts. History and evolution of Muslim courts in the United Kingdom ABSTRACT: In the last thirty years the United Kingdom has experienced the formation and surge of so-called Sharia courts or councils, unrecognised Muslim tribunals with purpose of settling disputes using Islamic religious law. Their stated objectives include providing advice and assistance in the operation of Muslim family life, establishing a bench of scholars to operate as a council, making decisions on matters of Muslim family law, and promoting an enlightened practice of the Muslim faith by Muslims living in the UK. This paper analyses the or...

This paper aims to analyze the current status of Sharia in the United Kingdom. More than ten years have passed since the speech by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the developments are more interesting than ever, in particular for the double track they are running: politics, characterized by long times and laboriously achieved results, and jurisprudence, which is able to intervene incisively even in sensitive issues such as this one, marking new stages in unexplored territories, as in Akhter v. Khan case.

Pluralist societies pose new challenges to legal systems, having to find trade-offs between accommodating the necessities of minorities and security concerns. Religions often impose prescriptive rules on the behaviour of their believers, leading to moral internal conflicts when these lead to break State laws. In Italy, this subject was already discussed between legal scholars, before it received large public attention in 2017, where a judgement of the Cassation Court has upheld the conviction of a Sikh indian for withholding a kirpan, a ritual dagger central to his faith. This work provides an overview of the debate raised by the ruling, with particular emphasis on the challenges in devising policies that address security concerns without sacrificing religious freedom and pluralism. The Italian answer to cultural crimes will be analysed in depth, given the distinctive element of positive laicità in 1948 Constitution that characterizes its context. In the conclusion, a possible solution focused on human dignity is suggested.

A recent ruling by EU Court of Justice has clarified the inapplicability of Rome III regulation to proceedings concerning separation and divorce of exclusively religious nature. The ruling has not however dispelled the doubts concerning the possibility of recognizing Islamic repudiation-based divorces within EU legal order. Rome III regulation requires that the foreign law which should apply to a divorce pursuant to other provisions must be replaced by lex fori, in the event that the former provides unequal access to the institution, due to the different sex of spouses. What it is not clear is whether this discriminatory effect should be assessed in the abstract or in concrete terms. This paper, starting from the Sahyouni c. Mamisch case, analyzes the fundamental right to a non-discriminatory treatment in face of talaq, its scope, and the possibilities of guaranteeing its observance, even though in constant application of the principle of conferral that still limits EU activities in the field of fundamental rights. European Union, as known, must necessarily remain neutral in religious matters, in the name of an unavoidable neutrality, due to the reluctance of the member States to renounce to their sovereignty in an area so characterized in the sense of identity.

In the last thirty years the United Kingdom has experienced the formation and surge of so-called Sharia courts or councils, unrecognised Muslim tribunals with purpose of settling disputes using Islamic religious law. Their stated objectives include providing advice and assistance in the operation of Muslim family life, establishing a bench of scholars to operate as a council, making decisions on matters of Muslim family law, and promoting an enlightened practice of the Muslim faith by Muslims living in the UK.
This paper analyses the origins, evolution and functioning of these councils, with emphasis on the lively public debate initiated in 2008 following the Archbishop of Canterbury’s remarks and followed with the bill proposed by Baroness Cox. An overview of the relations between Sharia councils and the State is presented, while providing insight on future scenarios.

Con la sentenza qui annotata, la Corte di Cassazione ha confermato la condanna per il reato di porto d'armi ex art. 4, comma 2, della legge n. 110/1975 inflitta dal Tribunale di Mantova a un indiano di religione Sikh che portava con sé il kirpan, il pugnale rituale costituente uno dei simboli di quel culto. La pronuncia ha suscitato una grande eco mediatica[1], in particolare per il richiamo della Corte all'obbligo, per l'immigrato, "di conformare i propri valori a quelli del mondo occidentale". Secondo la Corte, infatti, non sarebbe tollerabile che la società multietnica, pur costituendo una necessità, portasse alla formazione di "arcipelaghi culturali confliggenti", ostandovi l'unicità del tessuto culturale e giuridico del nostro Paese che individua la sicurezza pubblica come un bene da tutelare.

Faith always constitutes an essential aspect of prison life and its relevance in the European scenario has been emphasised in recent times because of the religious pluralism that characterises the current prison population. In this context, the rise of jihadist terrorism has shed light on the problem of radicalisation in prison, already known and studied by the experts, which poses new challenges for policymakers, prison staff, and detainees. In Italy, Prison Administration has been focused on religious freedom, its boundaries and its relationship with religious extremism and has already adopted some measures to combat and monitor jihadist proselitism in Italian prisons. The lecture will provide an overview of these anti-radicalisation strategies in prisons, highlighting unresolved issues. In particular, these include the lack of an integrated plan with regards to prevention of radicalisation and de-radicalisation, not limited by the prison context. The lecture will further highlight the challenges in devising policies that address security concerns without sacrificing religious freedom and diversity, as provided for by the Italian Constitution.

La Corte EDU ha reso nel mese di dicembre una pronuncia in merito alla situazione della minoranza musulmana in Tracia, cui la Grecia riconosce da circa un secolo la possibilità di continuare a seguire la Sharia in materia di diritto di famiglia e successorio, sotto la giurisdizione di un mufti. La sentenza appare di particolare interesse per l’affermazione del diritto di ogni membro di una qualsivoglia minoranza alla libera auto-identificazione. Quello alla free self-identification, infatti, secondo cui a ognuno deve essere garantita la possibilità anche di non ricevere il trattamento differenziato previsto dalla legge a tutela della minoranza cui si appartiene, non è uno specifico diritto garantito dalla Convenzione, ma è, secondo la Corte, la cornerstone, la pietra angolare, dell’intero diritto internazionale in tema di protezione delle minoranze.