Banning Political Islam: Freedom Does Not Defend Itself

Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker wants to ban political Islam. The proposal has raised substantial concerns, but it has also found support.

The debate touches a quiet promise at the heart of liberal societies: the state should interfere as little as possible in citizens’ lives. That promise is not a law of nature. It is an achievement that becomes fragile when individuals deliberately use it to restrict the freedom of others.

The philosopher John Stuart Mill expressed the central liberal idea clearly. Individuals should be free to live as they choose, while state intervention requires justification. It becomes legitimate when a person’s actions impair the freedom of others.

The article extends that principle beyond the individual. Freedom, it argues, ends when it becomes a means of systematically limiting other people’s freedom. Any attempt to prohibit political Islam would therefore need to draw boundaries at points that can be clearly justified. At the same time, such a move would put liberal principles to the test.