Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za

3-minute read
02 May 2024 | 16:48 CAT

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FOR SA has introduced a significant tool on its website: the Religious Freedom Scorecard. This Scorecard offers a comprehensive view of how political parties have voted on legislation affecting religious freedom over the past five years.

“Throughout the five-year tenure of this Parliament, FOR SA has been actively involved in every legislation that posed a potential threat to our religious freedom,” FOR SA stated. 

Radio Islam International underscores the Freedom Scorecard with Liesl Pretorius, the Attorney of the High Court of South Africa and Head of Legal from FOR SA. 

Pretorius explains the purpose of the Religious Freedom Scorecard and why FOR SA considers it a crucial tool in its mission to protect religious freedom. 

She says, “Our right to Religious Freedom is the cornerstone of our democracy and is specifically protected by Section 15 of the South African Constitution.” 

Pretorius said it is far broader than the right to believe in a particular faith.

“It includes the rights to live out one’s faith and to express our faith, freely and openly both in private and in public,” she said. 

Pretorius pointed out that parents have the right to pass on their values and views to their children, which includes the right to form associations with like-minded people without fear or sanction from the state. 

FOR SA is politically neutral and is willing to work with any political party. 

The Scorecard is a summary, taken directly from official Parliamentary records (the Hansard), of how the various parties voted on the different issues. It does not indicate why the political parties vote a certain way. 

Some Bills were passed with amendments, meaning that in certain instances, some (but not necessarily all) of our religious freedom concerns may have been addressed to some extent.

Meanwhile, FOR SA has staged multiple public-engaged campaigns to allow people to have their say on proposed legislation. 

According to Pretorius, the public has played a critical role in addressing issues that have been highly effective through implementing or improving the final versions of the Bill that became law to help ensure that the right to Religious Freedom is protected and upheld. 

Pretorius pointed out that the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill, also known as the Spy Bill, is an example of this. 

“When the Bill was first introduced into parliament, it was a major threat to Religious Freedom. Active public participation has resolved about 95 percent of the issues of the Bill, from a Religious Freedom perspective,” she says.

Listen to the full interview on Your World Today with Mufti Yusuf Moosagie.