Swiss move to ban minarets

Europe: Right-wing party in Switzerland doesn't want minarets in their skyline and in a popular move has a campaign on to ban it.

Islamic law But supporters of a ban on minarets say they have no intention of preventing anyone from practising their faith. "We don't have anything against Muslims," said Oskar Freysinger, member of parliament for the Swiss People's Party. "But we don't want minarets. The minaret is a symbol of a political and aggressive Islam, it's a symbol of Islamic law. The minute you have minarets in Europe it means Islam will have taken over." Mr Freysinger's words may sound extreme, even paranoid, but this is a general election year in Switzerland, and the campaign against minarets is playing well with voters. A recent opinion poll for one Swiss newspaper found that 43% of those surveyed were in favour of a ban on minarets. "We have our civil laws here," insisted Mr Freysinger. "Banning minarets would send a clear signal that our European laws, our Swiss laws, have to be accepted. And if you want to live here, you must accept them. If you don't, then go back."

Here is the irritating part and comes from a professor and three ministers who have to throw fuel on the fire by claiming Muslims will turn militant if this ban comes law. The problem I have is the automatic assumption that they will turn to violence. I know past actions and words by so-called leaders don't help but acting fearful is a dumb move.

Growing resentment It's a harsh message for Swiss Muslims, many of whom were born in Switzerland. There are fears that the campaign against minarets will provoke growing resentment against Swiss society. "I think Swiss Muslims will be angry and bitter over this," said Reinhard Schulze, professor of Islamic Studies at Berne University. "And we know that anger and bitterness among a community can lead to radicalisation, even to militancy." The Swiss government is extremely nervous about the prospect of militancy among Swiss Muslims; three cabinet ministers have already spoken out against the campaign to ban minarets. There is also a growing fear that the debate will damage Switzerland's traditionally good relations with the Arab world. But the Swiss People's Party is powerful. If the minaret campaign is, as some suspect, a vote-grabbing ploy ahead of October's general election, then it is a successful one; the party is riding high in the opinion polls. A constitutional amendment forbidding minarets will have to be approved in a nationwide referendum. In the meantime, no minarets are being built anywhere in Switzerland; the controversy has created a situation in which no local planning officer wants to be the first to approve one. In that respect, the People's Party may have got what it secretly wanted all along, an unofficial ban on minarets. So for now, Switzerland's Muslims will continue to pray in abandoned buildings, many with the growing feeling that they are tolerated only as long as they remain invisible.