In the accommodation of Islam to Europe, policymakers are confronted with the secular identity of the Western-European democracies which, over time, has resulted in diverse church-state regimes serving to shield politics from religion and vice versa.In this article, we examine whether these regimes have resulted in differences concerning the coming together, shape and problems with which representative bodies for the Islamic faith are faced. To do this, we compare the Belgian, Dutch, French, German and English case.Though governments are bound to existing church-state regimes, we note a European trend that questions their influence on said bodies.

Legislative changes with regard to tax exceptions for donations to civil society organisations have created a new fiscal regime (ANBI-regime). Central criterion within this new regime is whether the activities of an organisation are aimed at contributing to the general interest (algemeen belang). This regime poses serious questions for churches and their affiliated organisations as they are no longer de jure being considered as operating in the general interest. Furthermore, the legislator has not established a legal definition of ‘contributing to the general interest’. As a result a steady flow of jurisprudence has developed. In some judgements fiscal criteria seem to collide with the freedom of religion.