"Swiss move to ban minarets as 'symbols of Islamic power'"

[Strong Atheist]

<snip>

Switzerland's "stop minaret" movement is backed by the influential ultra-conservative Swiss People's Party, (SVP) which was re-elected in 2007 with its largest ever share of the vote after mounting an anti-foreigner campaign that was denounced by the United Nations as racist.

...

Switzerland is home to a population of about 400,000 Muslims, the majority of whom are Turks, Bosnians and Albanians. The "stop minaret" campaign was launched two years ago, prompting a national debate on the subject. A petition in support of its aims has since been signed by more than 100,000 citizens. Under Swiss law the issue now has to be decided by a national referendum which will be conducted in late November.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/swiss-move-to-ban-minarets-as-symbols-of-islamic-power-1771879.html

[asjr]

1. How sad! Banishing a lovely piece

of architecture because someone thinks it is religious.

[maxsolomon]

18. well... minarets are integral to mosques

like a steeple (used to be) integral to churches.

maybe you forgot the :sarcasm:?

[Libertas1776]

2. It seems

the Swiss are just trying to preserve their landscape's identity of snow capped mountains and ornate Germanic chalets. Why, its just as much a part of their national identity as fine cheese, exquisite chocolate, and secretive bank havens for tax dodgers and Nazi blood gold.
And a national referendum, those always turn out well for minorities, right? :sarcasm:

[Call Me Wesley]

3. This will sooo not pass at all.

The SVP has become a nation-wide joke after 2007, and they lost every referendum they passed since then. The 115'000 signers are probably all they could spare. Which is, actually, pretty sad.

Here's what the official 'Federal Commission Against Racism' statement issued about it:

1. The People’s Initiative “Against the Construction of Minarets” (the “Minaret Initiative”) should be rejected.

2. Contact between Muslims and non-Muslims should be more energetically encouraged. Anxieties among the non-Muslim majority of the population should be taken seriously, but this is not the way. Instead, prejudices should be broken down by countering them with realistic, jointly-devised approaches. This would demonstrate the diversity of each side to the other. The federal government, the cantons, local authorities, associations and the media must all help to promote mutual understanding.

3. Preventive conflict resolution must be supported. Developing conflicts between Muslims and non-Muslims can be defused at an early stage by conducting a dialogue. Local au-thorities should take an active role in promoting a constructive climate, take a public stand against discrimination, and – when conflicts do arise – promote dialogue between the antagonists by calling in qualified intercultural moderators.

4. For an extended context, see the FCR’s position statement Majority and the Muslim minority in Switzerland, 2006.

Gotta love direct Democracy. If you get enough people to sign, you can have a petition against 'The Use Of Hot Water In Bathtubs.' Or, even better, 'Throw The SVP down The Well!' ;)

[Strong Atheist]

4. .

:hi:

[Call Me Wesley]

5. Well, you quoted the article as if it was already set.

They'll have no chance; they're just idiots. And the reference to their 2007 outcome looks like the journalist here read up on Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_People%27s_Party which pretty much ends there. But it got very interesting afterward ... they crippled themselves with various in fights.

[Strong Atheist]

10. I know nothing about it. Thanks for the info.

:hi:

eom.

[SidneyCarton]

6. Thanks CMW nice to get some details.

Don't you live in Die Schweitz? If so, whereabouts, I still have family in Kanton Valais.

[Call Me Wesley]

7. I'm a Swiss citizen.

Living in the southern part, Ticino. Valais/Wallis, are they French speaking? It's one of the bilingual Kantons, and the hardest dialect for me to understand. ;)

:hi:

[SidneyCarton]

8. German speaking, they live in Zermatt.

:hi:

[Call Me Wesley]

9. Zermatt is nice!

Were you ever there? The Matterhorn is quite a sight, and I love the landscape there. And yes, I have seen the Matterhorn's peak. From a Cessna plane, though. ;)

[SidneyCarton]

11. Never made it home to the "old country" yet.

If all goes well with my PhD in a few years, I will have to hit the archives up in Germany for my Dissertation, so maybe I'll get a chance to take a trip down south for a visit.

[Call Me Wesley]

12. Best wishes!

I'm sure you'd enjoy it. :hi:

[uberllama42]

13. Is SVP short for "Swiss Volk Party"?

That's the kind of racist measure I would expect from a neo-Nazi party, and it certainly works if by "Swiss People" they are referring to the volk.

[DeSwiss]

14. Speaking of your religious symbols of power......

Gardes suisses au Vatican



- I just love those jammies.....

[moggie]

16. Is that camo? n/t

[Silent3]

15. Soon there will be minarets blanketing the US...

...with DEATH PANELS operating inside them!!!

Or at least I think Glenn Beck will be telling me that soon. :)

[Strong Atheist]

17. !

:rofl:

[onager]

19. OT but fun fact about minarets.

As most of you know, I recently came back to the USA after living in Egypt for nearly 4 years.

In Egypt, most minarets are designed with a square base, an octagonal middle section, and a circular top section.

That's interesting because it exactly copies the design of the famous Alexandria Lighthouse, the Pharos - one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, which towered over Alexandria's harbor for more than a millenium.

As a Fundamentalist Atheist, it tickled me to see all those minarets with a design copied directly from a piece of pagan architecture.

You can still see an ancient copy of the Pharos, done in about 1/10 scale, just outside Alexandria. The surrounding area takes its name from the structure: Burg el-Arab, "Tower of the Arabs."

[Strong Atheist]

20. Cool. Thanks for the info... nt.