BRUSSELS – A campaign for a comprehensive EU-wide ban on the application of Sharia law is gaining significant political traction, with a proposal by Swedish MEP Charlie Weimers now endorsed by more than 50 parliamentarians across 20 member states and slated for formal parliamentary review.
The initiative, publicly supported by Norwegian journalist Rebecca Mistereggen, argues that religious legal systems like Sharia are fundamentally incompatible with the European Union’s core values of equality and individual rights. Weimers contends that such parallel legal structures systematically enable discrimination against women, LGBTQ+ individuals, non-Muslims, and apostates.
“The existence of parallel legal systems is unacceptable in the European Union,” Weimers stated, citing the operation of Sharia councils in the United Kingdom and a recent French poll indicating that 57% of young Muslims there prioritize Sharia law over republican civil code.
The proposed ban aims to systematically dismantle existing Sharia structures across member states, with Weimers calling for direct involvement from EU agencies to assist national governments in enforcement. The move is strategically designed to force all political factions—from left to center-right—to declare their stance on the principle of European secularism.
This legislative push forms part of a broader political offensive by Weimers, who is also supporting a lawsuit against EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The combined efforts represent a significant challenge to the EU’s established political groups, compelling them to take a definitive position on the role of religious law within Europe’s legal framework.
As the proposal advances toward parliamentary debate, it promises to ignite a contentious continent-wide discussion on religious freedom, legal pluralism, and the boundaries of cultural accommodation in modern European societies.
