Switzerland votes on Muslim minaret ban

By Imogen Foulkes BBC News, Berne, Switzerland

There are only four minarets in Switzerland

Swiss voters are going to the polls to decide on a proposal to ban the building of minarets in their country.

The proposal is backed by the Swiss People's Party, the largest party in parliament, and by Christian groups.

They say minarets would be the first sign of the Islamisation of Switzerland.

The Swiss government is urging voters to reject a ban. There are 400,000 Muslims in Switzerland, and just four minarets across the country.

Islam is the most widespread religion after Christianity, but it remains relatively hidden.

There are unofficial Muslim prayer rooms, and planning for new minarets is almost always refused.

The proposal is for a one-line addition to the Swiss constitution, stating that the construction of minarets is forbidden.

Supporters of a ban claim allowing minarets would represent the growth of an ideology and a legal system - Sharia law - which are incompatible with Swiss democracy.

I have a real problem with Islam, with the Islamic law, with the political and legal aspect of this religion Oskar Freysinger Swiss member of parliament Pointed argument

Opinion polls ahead of the vote are close, with signs that a small majority would reject the ban.

That would be a relief to the Swiss government which fears banning minarets would cause unrest among the Muslim community, and damage Switzerland's relations with Islamic countries.

Amnesty International has warned that the ban would violate Switzerland's obligations to freedom of religious expression.

Swiss Muslim Elham Manea points to the recent construction of Sikh temples and Serbian Orthodox churches and says a ban just on minarets is discriminatory.

"If you are telling me that we are going to ban all religious symbols from all religious buildings, I would not have a problem with that.

"But if you are just telling me that we are going to target only the Muslims, not the Christians, not the Jews, not the Sikhs, only the Muslims, then I have a problem with it because it is discrimination."

Muslim respect

Most of Switzerland's Muslims come from former Yugoslavia, and there is no history of Islamic extremism, but supporters of a ban say minarets are far more than religious architecture.

They claim allowing them would be a sign that Islamic law is accepted in Switzerland.

Member of parliament Oskar Freysinger rejects the charge of discrimination.

"The Muslims as normal human beings are worth my respect - it is not a problem.

"I have a real problem with Islam, with the Islamic law, with the political and legal aspect of this religion."

In recent years many countries in Europe have been debating their relationship with Islam, and how best to integrate their Muslim populations.

France focused on the headscarf; in Germany there was controversy over plans to build one of Europe's largest mosques in Cologne.

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Commentary

A true secular governments role with religion is neutrality, tolerance, and aloofness. When the state interferes with religion it starts clashes with large groups of people.

A governments job goes back to the social contract and trying to protect it's people and preserve their rights. Mingling in religion and amending the constitution to stop the creation of minarets does not protect the people NOR does it preserve the Swiss public's rights.

People don't believe in the slippery slope argument because it's often cast out as extreme and overplayed. But when France bans headscarves and the U.K and Germany stop the construction of Muslim churches(mosques), and you then hear of this constitutional amendment, you know something has slid down that slope and we're headed for more severe consequences.

Lets hope secularism is not being re-written into Anti-Theism. They are two completely separate ideologies.