A MAJORITY OF THE SWISS PEOPLE ADOPTED THE POPULAR INITIATIVE AGAINST THE CONSTRUCTION OF MINARETS
AZG DAILY
01-12-2009
Religion
According to swissinfo.ch, to the great surprise of pollsters and
the regret of the government, the Swiss on Sunday said yes to a ban
on the construction of minarets.
According to final results, 57.5 per cent of voters and a majority
of cantons backed the initiative.
Turnout was high, at around 53 per cent.
The result comes as a major surprise and a slap in the face of the
government. Opinion polls ahead of the vote had predicted the ban
would be rejected by 53 per cent of the electorate.
The proposal on banning minaret construction was championed by
rightwing and ultra-conservative groups. The government and most
political parties as well as churches and the business community came
out strongly against it.
"A majority of the Swiss people and the cantons have adopted the
popular initiative against the construction of minarets. The Federal
Council respects this decision," a government statement said.
"Consequently the construction of new minarets in Switzerland is no
longer permitted. The four existing minarets will remain. It will
also be possible to continue to construct mosques."
The statement said freedom of belief would not be affected. "Muslims in
Switzerland are able to practise their religion alone or in community
with others, and live according to their beliefs just as before."
Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf had argued strongly
against a ban on minaret construction.
"The initiative is a kind of ‘proxy war’. Its supporters say they are
against minarets. But they want to fight what they consider creeping
Islamicisation and sharia law," she said ahead of the vote.
Opponents warned that approval of the proposal would fuel Islamic
extremism and damage Switzerland’s image abroad, particularly in the
Muslim world.
Supporters of a ban argued minarets are a symbol of an Islamic claim
to power.
"The Islamic religion is intolerant, but we do not want to limit
freedom of religion, we want to outlaw the political symbol," said
Ulrich Schluer, a member of the rightwing Swiss People’s party and
one of the leading promoters of the anti-minaret initiative.
Supporters tapped into public concern about the growing Muslim
community in Switzerland, radical imams, the role of women, as well
as head scarves and other dress codes.
The number of Muslim immigrants has increased to about 350,000 (up
to 4.5 per cent of the Swiss population) since the 1990s. Most came
from the former Yugoslavia and Turkey and are considered moderates.
There are an estimated 200 mosques and prayer rooms in Switzerland,
mainly in disused factories and warehouses. Only four have a minaret,
including the mosques in Geneva and Zurich.
In the wake of heated debates at a local level about requests to build
more minarets, members of the People’s Party and the Federal Democratic
Union collected enough signatures to force a nationwide vote.
Their campaign made use of a provocative poster campaign, which
was criticised as racist by non-governmental organisations and
international bodies.