Comparative research and analysis

For example, in February 2004 the federal government launched an ‘intercultural dialogue’ focused on four themes: the fundamental principles of the functioning of public services (equality, nondiscrimination and neutrality) and their implementation in an 4 intercultural context; citizenship as a remedy against the fear of others; equality between men and women; and the place and recognition of the [...] In a June 2005 case, the Antwerp appellate court ruled that girls in public schools have the right to wear the hijab but that the school board has the authority to restrict that right for organizational reasons or for the good functioning of the school. [...] In this context, it is possible to invoke not only the guarantee of freedom of religion in the Belgian constitution but also the provision of the European Convention on Human Rights stipulating that the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion includes the freedom “to manifest [the person’s] religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance.” 9 wearing the burqa. [...] However, a period of tensions between the government and the Council ensued, in part over suspicion that some of the members of the council had links to Islamists. [...] However, their interpretations of guarantees of freedom of religion under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and provincial charters and human rights codes, have most often reflected the view of the Supreme Court of Canada in Multani that “religious tolerance is a very important value of Canadian society.” Court cases The Supreme Court of Canada’s first use of the reasonable accommodatio