Freedom of religion in the European Union : a case study on perceptions of the female Muslim community in Malta

Abstract

This research focuses on freedom of religion in the European Union and in Malta. It specifically studies the freedom of religion vis-a-vis the Muslim religion and basis its case study on the female Muslim community in Malta. This study makes use of a qualitative and quantitative approach. The qualitative documentary review is analysed through a critical discourse analysis. The aim of the latter is to delve into legislation and understand how freedom of religion features in a sample of regional and local legal documents. Findings from this qualitative analysis show that although one cannot deem the existent legal framework as futile, there is still a gap between what is intended by the legal provisions and what is ultimately achieved. Although, on the whole, every legal document of the sample includes a non-discrimination provision, the same document usually comprises a contradictory article or notion, which, to a certain extent, reverses the non-discrimination effort. On the other hand, the multivariate analysis, via which the questionnaires are analysed, explores the freedom to affiliate with the Muslim religion from the point of view of Muslim women in Malta. Results from this multivariate analysis show that the female Muslim respondents feel welcomed and integrated within the Maltese and European society; yet, conflictingly, the majority also feels that Islamophobia is present both on a regional and on a national level. The respondents are also sceptical on the current standing of multiculturalism. The majority of the participants express the view that both the European Union and Malta are still not multicultural and this continues to further the discrepancy between what is written on paper and what truly happens in the general society.