How far does the human right to freedom of religion extend? Should freedom of religion take precedence over other human rights? According to a ruling by the Cologne District Court in 2012, the answer is no: it condemned ritual circumcision as an impermissible violation of the right to physical integrity. The wave of protests from religious organizations, combined with the increasingly vocal demands of religious Muslims in many European countries for the introduction of Islamic law, or Sharia, as a parallel legal system, has sparked controversy. In particular, the conflict between Sharia and the provisions for women's rights, as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, is considered serious. Oliver Smiljic analyzes the sacred texts of Judaism and Islam and uncovers contradictions in the arguments surrounding circumcision and Sharia.