Safeguarding human rights against discriminatory religious profiling with the context of religious terrorism

Abstract

The main question of this theoretical and phenomenological qualitative research study conducted in Ireland was: What can be done to strengthen the safeguarding of religious liberties while still allowing effective measures against terrorism? The line of reasoning employed in answering this question began with the assertion that religious terrorism has raised major concerns regarding the role of religion in today’s society and therefore reinforced the idea that violence is innate to religion. It was shown, however, that the premise that violence is inherent to religion has been scholastically challenged and a new alternative has been developed, namely, that religion is often used as a front for political, economic and territorial disputes. It was further revealed that ideological religious fundamentalism (or religionism), whereby ‘truth’ is conceptualised in absolutist ways, often leads to extremism and radicalism, which can manifest through violent acts (often referred to as religious terrorism). Consequently, national and international security are high on the political agendas of most world nations and, as a response to the threat terrorism poses, counterterrorism measures have been developed and implemented. Many of these measures make use of profiling practices in order to identify and monitor prospective perpetrators. There are various forms of profiling with racial and ethnic profiling being best known; religious profiling is also prevalent, especially in regard to people from Muslim backgrounds, and it is often practiced under the guise of ethnic and/or racial profiling. The study has further shown that profiling, including religious profiling, is a practice which often infringes on the human rights of individuals and groups of individuals. A strategy therefore needs to be implemented to safeguard the protection of human rights and liberties (including religious liberty). This is even more imperative as the danger exists for religious discrimination to become covertly systemic. The strategy developed for the safeguarding of religious liberties rests on three pillars: (1) awareness and advocacy, (2) lobbying, and (3) networking, and its foundational premise is that there is an imperative need to create space for religious profiling awareness and to promote the inclusion of the term and concept ‘religious profiling’ in legal documentation and treaties.