07 November 2016

Swiss against Islam as an official religion

Almost two-thirds of people living in Switzerland do not think Islam should be recognised as an official Swiss religion, according to a survey. A similar proportion believes there is no place for Islam in the country.

Asked whether Islam should be granted the same official status as Christianity and Judaism, 61% of 15,617 respondents said “no” or “probably no” in what the Swiss News Agency reports was a representative survey carried out by the Tamedia publishing house. The results were published in Le Matin Dimanche and the SonntagsZeitung.

Of those who were open to a third official religion, 19% said “yes” and 20% “probably yes”.

Almost two-thirds (62%) said there was no place in Switzerland for Islam. In addition, 80% thought Christian values were part of the Swiss identity.

In August, the president of the leftwing Social Democrat Party called for a discussion about the status of Islam in the country. [swissinfo.ch] Read more