Varuh ДЌlovekovih pravic

The Ombudsman and the Mufti on Providing for the Freedom of Expression of Thoughts, Conscious, and Religion

Varuh in mufti sedita za klubsko mizico in se ob spremstvu sodelavcev pogovarjata

The Human Rights Ombudsman Peter Svetina welcomed the visit of the Mufti of the Islamic community in Slovenia, Nevzet Porić, MSc. They discussed the issues faced by this community in Slovenia, while the Ombudsman presented to the Mufti the work of the institution of the Human Rights Ombudsman in connection with providing for the rights of religious communities.

Mufti Porić found that the institution of the Human Rights Ombudsman is a kind of an ally in the realisation of the rights of religious communities and expressed gratitude for all the support.

“The freedom to express religion and religious feelings and beliefs of all individuals and representatives of religious communities should be respected, regardless of whether this is the Islamic, Christian, Jewish or any other faith,” the Ombudsman said. He always personally brings attention to unacceptable acts in the public sphere that pertain to religious communities, such as various intolerances in the field of ethics of public speech or desecration of religious symbols. “My colleagues and I keenly monitor what is happening in this area,” explained Ombudsman Svetina.

Furthermore, the Ombudsman finds that the search for the boundaries of the freedom of conscious and the operation of religious communities remains current even in contemporary Slovenian society. It frequently turns out that these are questions that in their essence exceed only the national level and are also current more or less extensively elsewhere in the world.

Both officials also touched upon the events during the pandemic. Realising that for many people religious care is especially significant during difficult times, the Ombudsman checked the situation with religious communities, the police, army, prisons, and social care institutions on his own incentive. Of 56 registered religious communities in Slovenia, only 18 responded to the Ombudsman’s questionnaire. The majority of these thanked the Ombudsman for caring. The Ombudsman informed the bodies responsible of the findings.

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