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Swiss vote for minaret ban -
News that the Swiss voted by a majority of 57% to ban the building of Islamic minarets in the country is certain to be seen by many of the 15 million Muslims in Europe as a sign that they and their religion are not welcome. Bernard Kouchner, the French Foreign Minister has declared himself shocked by the result, adding that it harmed Switzerland’s image, since it meant, to all intents and purposes, a return to religious oppression in the country. At the time of writing, no British Government spokesman has yet made any comment.
The Swiss government had been against the ban, but the vote, proposed by the SVP (Swiss People’s Party) was carried in 22 of the country’s 26 cantons and the government has accepted the decision.
The debate will now inevitably become more heated in France, where there has already been controversy over official pronouncements on the burqua, in Germany where plans to build a large mosque have run into trouble, and possibly in Britain, where Islam is often perceived to have status and influence disproportionate to the numbers of its practitioners.
Although any law that appears to move towards constitutional racism in a European
country carries worrying echoes of Nazism, the cause of Islam, which most of its
practitioners claim to be a peaceful and non-
One of only 4 minarets in Switzerland
An emotive campaign poster in favour of the minaret ban