An ombudsman’s legal challenge over religious recognition has reignited long-running political anxieties about Muslim communities.
The public defender of rights has become embroiled in a political dispute after challenging a law that makes it difficult for small religious groups to gain official recognition, prompting ministers to warn that the move could open the door to Islam being formally registered in Slovakia.
The dispute began after Slovakia’s public defender of rights, Róbert Dobrovodský, asked the Constitutional Court to review a legal requirement that churches and religious communities must prove they have at least 50,000 adult members to register officially.
Dobrovodský said he acted after receiving a complaint from members of the Old Catholic Church of the Utrecht Union, a small Christian denomination present in Slovakia but unable to meet the threshold.
Without official registration, religious groups face restrictions. They cannot operate as recognised churches, own property in the same way, establish places of worship or formally organise religious services.
