Swiss Vote To Ban Islamic Minarets
A minaret is a spire on an Islamic mosque. It has a symbolic use (identifying a building to Muslims as a place of worship) and a practical use (traditionally the muezzin calls Muslims to daily prayer from the top of the minaret).
Think of the steeple and bell on a traditional Christian church.
In Switzerland they’re banning minarets because they feel their presence in their country is an indication that they’re being taken over by Muslims. Frankly, I think this vote reflects more poorly on the Swiss than on the Muslims.
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.
I am no fan of political correctness, and I am certainly in favor of taking the threat of Islamic extremism seriously, but what exactly does a ban like this accomplish? Outside of fanning the flames of the very extremism we wish to quench, that is?
I believe in freedom, including religious freedom, and I think that all religions should be free to practice as they see fit as long as they’re not trampling the rights of others. A minaret, as I pointed out, is really no different from a church steeple and bell.
What the Swiss are doing is punishing all Muslims for the actions of a few. Not only is that unfair, it allows the few to radicalize even more of their Muslim brethren. After all, their allegations of persecution by non-believers ring all the more true when Muslims can’t even build mosques with traditional architecture.
This was a dumb move by the Swiss. A move motivated by intolerance and fear. Islamic extremism should be taken seriously, but this absurd ban does more to hurt the fight against that extremism than help.
