What about the rights of the children? I don't think that parents "own" their children, and should be allowed to do with them in whatever way they want. Sure, parents should take care of their kids until they are old enough to really make well-informed own decisions.
The idea behind enforcing that all children are sent to a school (which by the way, includes many alternate school forms, not just the regular state schools, as many people here claim incorrectly) is that this way, all kids are ensured a chance to get suitable education. And moreover, to have a chance to learn how to socialize with other people, too. To learn to live with people who have different believes and opinions side by side, and respect them. In my class, there were christians, atheists, muslims. I grew up knowing that there are many different kinds of people out there, and that yet they are (mostly ;) normal people you can have great fun with and like. Not enemies, as many religions paint any non-believers, sadly.
Maybe the current way of forcing all kids in Germany to visit some kind of school is not the best. But then I also don't believe that allowing parents to isolate their children and to indoctrinate them is a good idea, either -- no matter whether it is orthodox Christianity, radical Islam, zealous Science-believe, or the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The foundation of a democracy is mutual understanding and a willingness to cooperate with each other, and I feel that's more important than granting a universal home schooling right, with all its pros and cons.
