{"id":787,"date":"2009-12-03T23:01:21","date_gmt":"2009-12-03T17:31:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mohamediqbalp.wordpress.com\/2009\/12\/03\/swiss-voters-back-ban-on-minarets\/"},"modified":"2009-12-03T23:01:21","modified_gmt":"2009-12-03T17:31:21","slug":"swiss-voters-back-ban-on-minarets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2009\/12\/03\/swiss-voters-back-ban-on-minarets\/","title":{"rendered":"Swiss voters back ban on minarets"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t \t\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\t\t\t\t\"One \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
There are only four minarets in Switzerland<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\t\t \t \t <\/p>\n

Swiss voters have supported a referendum proposal to ban the building of minarets, official results show.<\/b><\/p>\n

More than 57% of voters and 22 out of 26 cantons – or provinces – voted in favour of the ban. <\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

The government opposed the ban, saying it would harm Switzerland’s image, particularly in the Muslim world. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But Martin Baltisser, the SVP’s general secretary, told the BBC: “This was a vote against minarets as symbols of Islamic power.” <\/p>\n

The BBC’s Imogen Foulkes, in Bern, says the surprise result is very bad news for the Swiss government which fears unrest among the Muslim community. <\/p>\n

Our correspondent says voters worried about rising immigration – and with it the rise of Islam – have ignored the government’s advice. <\/p>\n

In a statement, the government said it accepted the decision. <\/p>\n

It said: “The Federal Council (government) respects this decision. Consequently the construction of new minarets in Switzerland is no longer permitted.” <\/p>\n

\t \t \t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/td>\n\n
\n
\t\t\t\"\" \t\t\tThis will cause major problems because during this campaign mosques were attacked, which we never experienced in 40 years in Switzerland<\/b> \t\t\"\"\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
Tamir Hadjipolu
Zurich’s Association of Muslim Organisations<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\t\t\t \"\"\t\t\t <\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
Minaret vote: Your views<\/a> <\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Result “reflects unease with Islam”<\/a> <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\t\t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t \t <\/p>\n

Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said: “Concerns [about Islamic fundamentalism] have to be taken seriously. <\/p>\n

“However, a ban on the construction of new minarets is not a feasible means of countering extremist tendencies.” <\/p>\n

She sought to reassure Swiss Muslims, saying the decision was “not a rejection of the Muslim community, religion or culture”. <\/p>\n

Switzerland is home to some 400,000 Muslims and has just four minarets. <\/p>\n

After Christianity, Islam is the most widespread religion in Switzerland, but it remains relatively hidden. <\/p>\n

There are unofficial Muslim prayer rooms, and planning applications for new minarets are almost always refused. <\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

Amnesty International said the vote violated freedom of religion and would probably be overturned by the Swiss supreme court or the European Court of Human Rights. <\/p>\n

‘Political symbol’<\/b><\/p>\n

The president of Zurich’s Association of Muslim Organisations, Tamir Hadjipolu, told the BBC: “This will cause major problems because during this campaign mosques were attacked, which we never experienced in 40 years in Switzerland. <\/p>\n

“Islamaphobia has increased intensively.” <\/p>\n

And there was dismay among Switzerland’s Muslims upon hearing the result. <\/p>\n

\t \t \t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/td>\n\n
\n
\t\t\t\"\" \t\t\tIt’s a message that you are not welcome here as true citizens of this society<\/b> \t\t\"\"\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
Elham Manea, co-founder of the Forum for a Progressive Islam<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\t\t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t \t <\/p>\n

Farhad Afshar, president of the Coordination of Islamic Organisations in Switzerland, said: “The most painful thing for us is not the ban on minarets but the symbol sent by this vote. <\/p>\n

“Muslims do not feel accepted as a religious community.” <\/p>\n

Elham Manea, co-founder of the Forum for a Progressive Islam, added: “My fear is that the younger generation will feel unwelcome. <\/p>\n

“It’s a message that you are not welcome here as true citizens of this society.” <\/p>\n

Sunday’s referendum was held after the SVP collected 100,000 signatures from voters within 18 months calling for a vote. <\/p>\n

In recent years countries across Europe have been debating how best to integrate Muslim populations. <\/p>\n

France focused on the headscarf, while in Germany there was controversy over plans to build one of Europe’s largest mosques. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are only four minarets in Switzerland 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,…
Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}