.... it's perfectly reasonable to believe that public displays of religious symbols should be kept to a minimum, whether they take the form of crucifixes or hijabs.
…. the referendum was a proxy for a much wider argument which doesn't divide easily into "for" and "against" camps. Somewhere in all this noisy rhetoric of racists and religious apologists, the reasonable voice of secularism urgently needs to be heard. [Guardian Cif] Read more
Shadow of the minaret …. After all, Saudi Arabia bans all Christian churches, not just those with bell-towers, while in Egypt religiously-motivated planning rules have made it virtually impossible for the Coptic community to repair their existing churches, let alone build any new ones.
When it comes to religious pluralism, few Muslim countries are in much position to complain. [Heresy Corner] Read more
Switzerland tackles Islamification in a very un-neutral way .... There is arguably a danger of discrimination in terms of how different religions are treated, but to my mind the solution is very simple: ban all religious buildings that seek to dominate the landscape rather than blend into it.
…. Even though the government didn’t support the ban, Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz said that ”muslims should be able to practice their religion and have access to minarets in Switzerland too, but the call of the muezzin [call to prayer] will not sound here.” He gets it. Shame British politicians don’t. [Letters from a Tory] Read more
Against the ban on minarets …. a great disservice to Libertarians everywhere by holding up this as an example of democracy in process. Bizarrely he concludes with “The people told the Government, not the other way round” when in fact what has happened is the “the people told some other people to stop doing “that”.” Moreover, they told them to do it by co-opting the massive repressive potential of the state. [Liberal Conspiracy] Read more
Minaret Vote: Muslim reactions Various reactions from European Muslims. [Islam in Europe] Read more
European Right: Let's all ban minarets (UPDATE: France, Sweden, Vatican) Various responses to the Swiss decision to ban minarets. [Islam in Europe] Read more
Quote: "Islam is by now a Swiss and a European religion" I agree with Tariq Ramadan on one point here: the message of this referendum is that the Swiss don't want to see the Muslims. But his conclusion is exactly what the Swiss fear. Islam might be a religion in Switzerland, just as other minority religions, but it is not a 'Swiss religion". [Islam in Europe] Read more
The Case of the Swiss Minarets (as Switzerland votes to ban minarets) .... What makes this bad situation even more worrisome is the fact that such an overtly xenophobic and racist attitude finds so much support in an otherwise neutral country. If this vote had occurred in, say, Denmark, one would not be surprised, after the Danish cartoon controversies and the reaction in the Muslim world, to find a majority of Danes voting for such a referendum.
But, of all places, Switzerland? Muslims worriedly and rightly ask: If these negative attitudes are so popular in Switzerland, what does that augur for other European countries? [MuslimMatters.org] Read more
