Avalanches of criticism pour onto Switzerland for banning minarets vote
Local Editor, 30-11-2009
The Swiss voted at the weekend, by a majority of 7.5 percentage points, to ban the building of minarets on mosques. The result of the referendum tops headlines across Europe.
Le Monde reports that the main Muslim organisation in Indonesia, the grand mufti of Egypt and the leaders of the largest mosque in Lyon are among those that have criticized the result of yesterday's referendum. The paper has an interview with Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, Swiss justice minister, who said she fears the result could harm the Swiss economy.
Le Figaro reports that a dispute on whether to ban minarets could be stirred in France.
Mean while, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in a radio interview on Monday that he was "shocked" by Switzerland's referendum vote to ban mosque minarets.
"I am a bit shocked by this decision," Kouchner told RTL radio. "It is an expression of intolerance and I detest intolerance."
"I hope the Swiss will reverse this decision quickly," he added.
Kouchner said "if we cannot build minarets that means that we are practising religious oppression".
"Is it really offensive that in a mountainous country there is a building that is a bit taller than the others?" he asked.
Asked if he was in favour of a burqa ban, Kouchner said he "didn't know."
But he added: "Now in terms of wearing the burqa in the street, that is also a basic freedom."
The Christian community also expressed dismay, saying it was "inadmissible that the religious minority now have to subject to unequal treatment."
On its part, Amnesty International described the minaret ban as a "violation of religious freedom, incompatible with the conventions signed by Switzerland."
Muslim groups in Switzerland and abroad condemned the vote as biased and anti-Islamic.
Nevertheless, Saida Keller-Messahli, president of the Forum for an Advanced Islam, said the public's fears had been too great and "hatred had won over reason".
She said there would now be legal consequences, since the ban violated the freedom of religion.
The Federation of Islamic Organisations in Switzerland also regretted the result, saying the propaganda of the campaign supporters had succeeded in frightening the majority of voters.
The federation said it was too soon to judge the negative social and legal consequences - what was important now was to strengthen their public relations and clear up any misunderstandings or prejudices concerning Islam.
"Switzerland has lost," said Rifa'at Lenzin from the European Project for Interreligious Learning in Zurich, adding that the country was "leading the way" for Islamophobia.
Reinhard Schulze, a professor of Islamic studies at Bern University, said he was "very surprised" by the acceptance of the initiative.
He described the result as a "turning point", in that after many years of going in the other direction, voters had once again spoken for an unequal treatment of faiths.
Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah warned from the propaganda campaign which aimed to raise the Swiss public opinion against Islam through presenting it in a distorted image, calling on Westerners to field social studies to learn more about Muslims and Islam.
His eminence also expressed his fears from manipulating the results of the referendum that might lead to disturbance and aggravation among communities, especially as it comes after waves of racism launched across European countries, as happened in Germany where a Muslim woman was murdered in the heart of the Court.
Muslim minorities have been facing religious oppression and discrimination across Europe in recent years .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.
The Swiss voted at the weekend, by a majority of 7.5 percentage points, to ban the building of minarets on mosques. The result of the referendum tops headlines across Europe.
Le Monde reports that the main Muslim organisation in Indonesia, the grand mufti of Egypt and the leaders of the largest mosque in Lyon are among those that have criticized the result of yesterday's referendum. The paper has an interview with Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, Swiss justice minister, who said she fears the result could harm the Swiss economy.
Le Figaro reports that a dispute on whether to ban minarets could be stirred in France.
Mean while, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in a radio interview on Monday that he was "shocked" by Switzerland's referendum vote to ban mosque minarets.
"I am a bit shocked by this decision," Kouchner told RTL radio. "It is an expression of intolerance and I detest intolerance."
"I hope the Swiss will reverse this decision quickly," he added.
Kouchner said "if we cannot build minarets that means that we are practising religious oppression".
"Is it really offensive that in a mountainous country there is a building that is a bit taller than the others?" he asked.
Asked if he was in favour of a burqa ban, Kouchner said he "didn't know."
But he added: "Now in terms of wearing the burqa in the street, that is also a basic freedom."
The Christian community also expressed dismay, saying it was "inadmissible that the religious minority now have to subject to unequal treatment."
On its part, Amnesty International described the minaret ban as a "violation of religious freedom, incompatible with the conventions signed by Switzerland."
Muslim groups in Switzerland and abroad condemned the vote as biased and anti-Islamic.
Nevertheless, Saida Keller-Messahli, president of the Forum for an Advanced Islam, said the public's fears had been too great and "hatred had won over reason".
She said there would now be legal consequences, since the ban violated the freedom of religion.
The Federation of Islamic Organisations in Switzerland also regretted the result, saying the propaganda of the campaign supporters had succeeded in frightening the majority of voters.
The federation said it was too soon to judge the negative social and legal consequences - what was important now was to strengthen their public relations and clear up any misunderstandings or prejudices concerning Islam.
"Switzerland has lost," said Rifa'at Lenzin from the European Project for Interreligious Learning in Zurich, adding that the country was "leading the way" for Islamophobia.
Reinhard Schulze, a professor of Islamic studies at Bern University, said he was "very surprised" by the acceptance of the initiative.
He described the result as a "turning point", in that after many years of going in the other direction, voters had once again spoken for an unequal treatment of faiths.
Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah warned from the propaganda campaign which aimed to raise the Swiss public opinion against Islam through presenting it in a distorted image, calling on Westerners to field social studies to learn more about Muslims and Islam.
His eminence also expressed his fears from manipulating the results of the referendum that might lead to disturbance and aggravation among communities, especially as it comes after waves of racism launched across European countries, as happened in Germany where a Muslim woman was murdered in the heart of the Court.
Muslim minorities have been facing religious oppression and discrimination across Europe in recent years .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.
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