A small victory against Islamization of Europe but still a victory… Islamic Minarets and Mosques in Europe? When someone comes visit Switzerland they don’t want to see Arabic architecture because they see that in the Middle East, but European architecture and culture. Maybe others will follow this Switzerland’s example.
Swiss voters have supported a referendum proposal to ban the building of minarets, official results show.
More than 57% of voters and 22 out of 26 cantons – or provinces – voted in favour of the ban.
The proposal had been put forward by the Swiss People’s Party, (SVP), the largest party in parliament, which says minarets are a sign of Islamisation.
The government opposed the ban, saying it would harm Switzerland’s image, particularly in the Muslim world.
The BBC’s Imogen Foulkes, in Bern, says the surprise result is very bad news for the Swiss government which also fears unrest among the Muslim community.
Our correspondent says voters worried about rising immigration – and with it the rise of Islam – have ignored the government’s advice.
“The Federal Council (government) respects this decision. Consequently the construction of new minarets in Switzerland is no longer permitted,” said the government in a statement, quoted by the AFP news agency.
Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said the result reflected fear of Islamic fundamentalism.
“These concerns have to be taken seriously. However, the Federal Council takes the view that a ban on the construction of new minarets is not a feasible means of countering extremist tendencies,” she said.
She sought to reassure Swiss Muslims, saying the decision was “not a rejection of the Muslim community, religion or culture”.
Switzerland is home to some 400,000 Muslims and has just four minarets.
After Christianity, Islam is the most widespread religion in Switzerland, but it remains relatively hidden.
There are unofficial Muslim prayer rooms, and planning applications for new minarets are almost always refused.
Supporters of a ban claimed that allowing minarets would represent the growth of an ideology and a legal system – Sharia law – which are incompatible with Swiss democracy.
But others say the referendum campaign incited hatred. On Thursday the Geneva mosque was vandalised for the third time during the campaign, according to local media.
Before the vote, Amnesty International warned that the ban would violate Switzerland’s obligations to freedom of religious expression.
‘Political symbol’
The president of Zurich’s Association of Muslim Organisations, Tamir Hadjipolu, told the BBC that if the ban was implemented, Switzerland’s Muslim community would live in fear.
“This will cause major problems because during this campaign in the last two weeks different mosques were attacked, which we never experienced in 40 years in Switzerland.
“So with the campaign… the Islamaphobia has increased very intensively.”
Sunday’s referendum was held after the People’s party collected 100,000 signatures from eligible voters within 18 months calling for a vote.
SVP member of parliament Ulrich Schluer said the campaign had helped integration by encouraging debate. He rejected the charge of discrimination.
In recent years many countries in Europe have been debating their relationship with Islam, and how best to integrate their Muslim populations.
France focused on the headscarf, while in Germany there was controversy over plans to build one of Europe’s largest mosques in Cologne.
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Before the critics make further comment, please take the time to literally read the Koran, the Bible of the Muslims. They are encouraged to lie and kill anyone who is not a Muslim and are promised rewards in their version of Paradise that provides these killers with a harem of “virgins for eternity.” How insane and evil can one get? How about the souls of those “virgins?” No, no, they are silently infliltrating the non-Muslim communities until they gain a majority, then you, all of you, will be given the choice: convert or be slaughtered. This sounds like it’s from the Dark Agee – it is! Onlt this time it will be their Dark Ages. Cut the head off the dragon while you can – let them do “their thing” all they want – in their countries, not ours.
Sylvy and the rest- this is a positive step in the right direction. Someone has to put their foot down, and it appears Switzerland is the only country in Europe with the cajones to do it. God Bless Switzerland in their efforts. I visited Switzerland in 1975, and was awed by all of the beauty, cleanliness, friendliness, and culture that I witnessed. It would be a shame to see minarets up against the backdrop of the alps, or in any city setting. I hope other European nations read these columns and comments of people from around the world with viewpoints on this subject. As they say in my country, the USA, if you give them an inch, they will take a mile. They are already doing that in the US, and their numbers continue to grow with no end in sight. God help us all.
I find it incredible that you actually find this referendum somewhat encouraging! The ban was approved by a very small margin of the voters, even considering that around 6% of the Swiss population is already muslim. This only bans them from adding minarets to already existing mosques, and it is not, whichever way you want to look at it, a victory against islamification of any sort. http://the-great-fear.blogspot.com/
I don’t understand if you are saying you are for or against it?
I have never come across a newspaper that is so Nazi oriented and anti-every race but whites and anti-every religion other then Christian. It is anti Jew, Anti Muslim, anti Hindu, anti-Chinese, anti-Indian, anti-black. I even found an article where the headline included the word “nigger”! WOW the owner seems to hate everyone but him/herself!
Still it’s a good pointer to muslims and more importantly, to other EU coutries.
Banning minarets will not get rid of Muslims or Islam and their growth. Minarets are not even a requirement for a real mosque. Banning them is just false hope that it will stem the rise of Islam and Islamic fundamentalism. This is a ridiculous notion.