Swiss ban new mosque minaret construction

[Admin_2]

:shock: :shock: :shock:

I didn't even know that this was even being considered in a vote.

"GENEVA – Swiss voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional ban on minarets on Sunday, barring construction of the iconic mosque towers in a surprise vote that put Switzerland at the forefront of a European backlash against a growing Muslim population.

Muslim groups in Switzerland and abroad condemned the vote as biased and anti-Islamic. Business groups said the decision hurt Switzerland's international standing and could damage relations with Muslim nations and wealthy investors who bank, travel and shop there.

"The Swiss have failed to give a clear signal for diversity, freedom of religion and human rights," said Omar Al-Rawi, integration representative of the Islamic Denomination in Austria, which said its reaction was "grief and deep disappointment."

About 300 people turned out for a spontaneous demonstration on the square outside parliament, holding up signs saying, "That is not my Switzerland," placing candles in front of a model of a minaret and making another minaret shape out of the candles themselves.

"We're sorry," said another sign. A young woman pinned to her jacket a piece of paper saying, "Swiss passport for sale."

The referendum by the nationalist Swiss People's Party labeled minarets as symbols of rising Muslim political power that could one day transform Switzerland into an Islamic nation. The initiative was approved 57.5 to 42.5 percent by some 2.67 million voters. Only four of the 26 cantons or states opposed the initiative, granting the double approval that makes it part of the Swiss constitution.

Muslims comprise about 6 percent of Switzerland's 7.5 million people. Many are refugees from the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s and about one in 10 actively practices their religion, the government says.

The country's four standing minarets, which won't be affected by the ban, do not traditionally broadcast the call to prayer outside their own buildings.

The sponsors of the initiative provoked complaints of bias from local officials and human-rights group with campaign posters that showed minarets rising like missiles from the Swiss flag next to a fully veiled woman. Backers said the growing Muslim population was straining the country "because Muslims don't just practice religion."

"The minaret is a sign of political power and demand, comparable with whole-body covering by the burqa, tolerance of forced marriage and genital mutilation of girls," the sponsors said. They said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan compared mosques to Islam's military barracks and called "the minarets our bayonets." Erdogan made the comment in citing an Islamic poem many years before he became prime minister.

Anxieties about growing Muslim minorities have rippled across Europe in recent years, leading to legal changes in some countries. There have been French moves to ban the full-length body covering known as the burqa. Some German states have introduced bans on head scarves for Muslim women teaching in public schools. Mosques and minaret construction projects in Sweden, France, Italy, Austria, Greece, Germany and Slovenia have been met by protests.

But the Swiss ban in minarets, sponsored by the country's largest political party, was one of the most extreme reactions.

"It's a sad day for freedom of religion," said Mohammed Shafiq, the chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, a British youth organization. "A constitutional amendment that's targeted towards one religious community is discriminatory and abhorrent."

He said he was concerned the decision could have reverberations in other European countries.

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.

The seven-member Cabinet that heads the Swiss government had spoken out strongly against the initiative but the government said it accepted the vote and would impose an immediate ban on minaret construction.

It said that "Muslims in Switzerland are able to practice their religion alone or in community with others, and live according to their beliefs just as before." It took the unusual step of issuing its press release in Arabic as well as German, French, Italian and English.

Sunday's results stood in stark contrast to opinion polls, last taken 10 days ago, that showed 37 percent supporting the proposal. Experts said before the vote that they feared Swiss had pretended during the polling that they opposed the ban because they didn't want to appear intolerant.

"The sponsors of the ban have achieved something everyone wanted to prevent, and that is to influence and change the relations to Muslims and their social integration in a negative way," said Taner Hatipoglu, president of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Zurich. "Muslims indeed will not feel safe anymore."

The People's Party has campaigned mainly unsuccessfully in previous years against immigrants with campaign posters showing white sheep kicking a black sheep off the Swiss flag and another with brown hands grabbing eagerly for Swiss passports.

Geneva's main mosque was vandalized Thursday when someone threw a pot of pink paint at the entrance. Earlier this month, a vehicle with a loudspeaker drove through the area imitating a muezzin's call to prayer, and vandals damaged a mosaic when they threw cobblestones at the building. "

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091129/ap_on_re_eu/eu_switzerland_minaret_ban

[samy5000]

The government will overturn the will of the people. It is happening in more places than I care to count. The Swiss govt. and Europe will not let this stand...

[English_Bob]

Isn't this what democracy is all about? Giving the majority what they want?

The vote was held and the Swiss people's voice was heard.

Thailand has been under scrutiny since the last coup, after some people inferred the poor voters were too ill-educated to really know what was good for their country.

Will the same be said of the Swiss now? Are they too stupid to know what is good for their country?

[Sukhumvit_Farang]

I wonder how many Christian churches there are in Saudi Arabia?

[keepup24]

you don't know switzerland my friend.. we are in love with democracy and voting one whatever you can come up with. the only way this is overturned is the way to the Strassburg - to the European Court of Human Rights. But this is very unlikely.. so there won't be any minarets builded anymore, i can you asure that. btw i voted against it, but the opposite side ran a good campain.

[I_am_George]

I wonder how many Christian churches there are in Saudi Arabia?

There are a few hidden away :wink:

[samy5000]

I wonder how many Christian churches there are in Saudi Arabia?

There are a few hidden away :wink:

Yes there are quite a few but theyre 'underground'. Theyre not really churches per say but normal buldings that christians have their church rituals in on a sundays.

[CiaranM]

Isn't this what democracy is all about? Giving the majority what they want?

bollocks ... most "democratically" elected governments couldn't give a flying f**k about what the majority want !!!!

and democracy is also supposed to be about protecting the rights of minorities !! :wink: :wink:

[I_am_George]

I wonder how many Christian churches there are in Saudi Arabia?

There are a few hidden away :wink:

Yes there are quite a few but theyre 'underground'. Theyre not really churches per say but normal buldings that christians have their church rituals in on a sundays.

Youre probably right in most cases but the place I was in for the Rememberence Day service a couple of weeks ago definately looked like a church.....or maybe the wine just made me think that :shock:

[SweetieBabie]

and democracy is also supposed to be about protecting the rights of minorities !! :wink: :wink:

+1

Yes

[English_Bob]

bollocks ... most "democratically" elected governments couldn't give a flying f**k about what the majority want !!!!

and democracy is also supposed to be about protecting the rights of minorities !! :wink: :wink:

OK... isn't this what the 'idea' of democracy is supposed to be about?

And democratic governmentsdecide what people's rights are, before protecting them... and if there is a vote, in which the majority disagree with the proposed right, then that right is not a right... right?

[beej]

and democracy is also supposed to be about protecting the rights of minorities !! :wink: :wink:

+1

Yes

....and religious freedoms.

[CiaranM]

and to go slightly off topic ... after the publication in ireland of the report into the sexual abuse of children by priests ... i'd be in favour of all churches there been burnt to the f**king ground !!!!

[samy5000]

I wonder how many Christian churches there are in Saudi Arabia?

There are a few hidden away :wink:

Yes there are quite a few but theyre 'underground'. Theyre not really churches per say but normal buldings that christians have their church rituals in on a sundays.

Youre probably right in most cases but the place I was in for the Rememberence Day service a couple of weeks ago definately looked like a church.....or maybe the wine just made me think that :shock:

yes..Only private worship, or a compound designates one of its villas as a church, and if you notice the Villa churches, you will see mostly people from the Philippine community or Christian Arabs...

[English_Bob]

and to go slightly off topic ... after the publication in ireland of the report into the sexual abuse of children by priests ... i'd be in favour of all churches there been burnt to the f**king ground !!!!

But aren't paedophile priests a minority group, whose rights to abuse children need protecting?

[CiaranM]

and to go slightly off topic ... after the publication in ireland of the report into the sexual abuse of children by priests ... i'd be in favour of all churches there been burnt to the f**king ground !!!!

But aren't paedophile priests a minority group, whose rights to abuse children need protecting?

nope .... u don't protect the rights of ppl who decide to break the law !!!

however, there has obviously in the past been unfair/outdated laws and in a functioning democracy these should be repealed amended !!! although hopefully they will never make it legal for priests to sexually abuse kids !!!

[pluggy]

Try to errect a christian church with a cross on top and churchbells ringing

in Turkey or any other islamic country.

As long as the islams do not learn to be tolerant against other religions

why shouldt any other country in the west be as tolerant as to allow

the construction of new mosques in their countries.

In Cologne - Germany - for example, the mosque was a meeting point

for secret meetings, even planning attacks against the christian population.

By the way, I am not christian.

[English_Bob]

nope .... u don't protect the rights of ppl who decide to break the law !!!

however, there has obviously in the past been unfair/outdated laws and in a functioning democracy these should be repealed amended !!! although hopefully they will never make it legal for priests to sexually abuse kids !!!

Ahh ha! But in Switzerland, the government has held a referendum in which the majority voted not to build any more minarets in their country. Note the law doesn't prevent worshipping, just the building of mosques with minarets.

So if they introduce this law (which appeals to the masses), anyone building a mosque with minarets will be breaking the law.

As we are all aware, all Muslims are not terrorists and all terrorists are not Muslim. But the public perception (whether right or wrong) is that Islam is responsible for more terrorist attacks than other religions.

If fundamentalists wish to pray in an authentic mosque, perhaps they will choose another country to live in, and therefore be less likely to commit attacks in Switzerland.

Perhaps that is one of the reasons the Swiss voted the way they did.

Or perhaps they wish to keep the skyline free from minarets to look Swiss.

Or maybe it's about the noise of the muezzin calling people to prayer.

[Neo]

Try to errect a christian church with a cross on top and churchbells ringing

in Turkey or any other islamic country.

As long as the islams do not learn to be tolerant against other religions

why shouldt any other country in the west be as tolerant as to allow

the construction of new mosques in their countries.

Yep. Ban their mosques. That'll make the "islams" more tolerant and undestanding. Or not.

[beej]

As we are all aware, all Muslims are not terrorists and all terrorists are not Muslim. But the public perception (whether right or wrong) is that Islam is responsible for more terrorist attacks than other religions.

Crazy isn't it, with the IRA, ETA, Tokyo's underground attacks, Timothy Mc Veigh, and blah blah blah blah blah....

[eagle]

In Cologne - Germany - for example, the mosque was a meeting point

for secret meetings, even planning attacks against the christian population.

A mosque is a place of worship for 2.2 BILLION people and GROWING world wide, what do you think they all do there? Sit around and make bombs.

Churchs in the US are meeting places to plan abortion protests that go violent.

[eagle]

As we are all aware, all Muslims are not terrorists and all terrorists are not Muslim. But the public perception (whether right or wrong) is that Islam is responsible for more terrorist attacks than other religions.

Crazy isn't it, with the IRA, ETA, Tokyo's underground attacks, Timothy Mc Veigh, and blah blah blah blah blah....

The violent evangelist few Islamist give the whole religion a bad name and make it hard for the rest. Christian evangelists are annoying as hell but the radical muslims are at war and that reflects on all of Islam and makes them easy prey for those who wish to turn others against Islam unfortunately.

[petestan]

and to go slightly off topic ... after the publication in ireland of the report into the sexual abuse of children by priests ... i'd be in favour of all churches there been burnt to the f**king ground !!!!

Bit of an overeaction isn't it, let's just burn all the Roman Catholic churches :wink:

[CiaranM]

nope .... u don't protect the rights of ppl who decide to break the law !!!

however, there has obviously in the past been unfair/outdated laws and in a functioning democracy these should be repealed amended !!! although hopefully they will never make it legal for priests to sexually abuse kids !!!

Ahh ha! But in Switzerland, the government has held a referendum in which the majority voted not to build any more minarets in their country. Note the law doesn't prevent worshipping, just the building of mosques with minarets.

So if they introduce this law (which appeals to the masses), anyone building a mosque with minarets will be breaking the law.

As we are all aware, all Muslims are not terrorists and all terrorists are not Muslim. But the public perception (whether right or wrong) is that Islam is responsible for more terrorist attacks than other religions.

If fundamentalists wish to pray in an authentic mosque, perhaps they will choose another country to live in, and therefore be less likely to commit attacks in Switzerland.

Perhaps that is one of the reasons the Swiss voted the way they did.

Or perhaps they wish to keep the skyline free from minarets to look Swiss.

Or maybe it's about the noise of the muezzin calling people to prayer.

or maybe they r just bigoted ***** !!!

[Damnam1]

the vote was not against mosques - swiss population voted against the minarets ! In my eyes islam is running a very subtle yet intelligent campaign over here in western Europe - chapeau..

Switzerland ist the country with the highest percentage of working foreigners. It needs to be stressed again - foreigners having a steady job in Switzerland. In comparison Germany is having quite a big number of unemployed workers, amongst those is a large number of unemployed muslims in second or even third generation.

Switzerland is having this most direct form of democracy and hell, this is democracy and this decision should be respected and ought to be out of question. If there was the same poll in Germany (and there is a high and increasing number of mosques and minarets, too) I bet that it would turn out the same. Christians are supressed in any arabic country, while crime rate of young islamic ethnic minorities in western european countries is a proven fact and constantly rising.

The results are quite the same in both countries. Integration does not really work. Because of my job I visit most of the secondary (meanwhile problem schools) school in my home town. Can you imagine that there are migrant families in 2nd or 3rd generation where the parents do not speak a single word of german ? Their kids are born on a losing street and give a damn about it. What the heck are they wanting from a country they dont love ? How can they expect the population to like them ? I dont want to become a stranger in my own country but parts of the cities are in the hands of ethnic minorities at night and all those morons demanding even more rights for minorities should shut the f**k up and open their eyes to reality.

In the last few months there were murders during daytime in tube and train stations commiited by ethnic minorities, there were mosques closed by german authoriities as their religious leaders were secretly calling for djihad. In the afternoon they tell the school pupil to forget what they have been told by their german teachers in the morning.

A lot of djihad fighters had their primary religious education in the afternoon schools and then went to the terror camps in Pakistan.

All those bleeding heart liberals should start to open their eyes to the reality. Integration deals with intelligence - we are trying hard to teach their kids our way of living, our western culture to let them become good integrated members of our society but some mindless bastards with their 16th century opinion still have total mind control by means of religion.