Minaret referendum updates

last updated: 4 Dec 2009- 14:00

One year later:

minare

via

Vatan daily calls Sarkozy a fascist after his support for the minaret ban in Switzerland

Turkey joins Swiss minaret row – Religion : news, world | euronews

Bağış asks Muslims to abandon Swiss banks – Hurriyet

Combating prejudice

by NICOLE POPE
The shock waves caused by the Swiss decision to ban minarets show no sign of abating. There can be no silver lining to the disastrous referendum results that have brought out into the open the growing wave of intolerance sweeping through Europe.

Switzerland?s tarnished image

by FATMA DİŞLİ ZIBAK

Criticism continues to rain down on Switzerland, which banned minarets in the country following a referendum held on Sunday, with many finding the move a severe blow to religious freedom and human rights.

The view from the minaret

by ANDREW FINKEL
I live in a Bosporus-side community in İstanbul where morning and night, the chimes of bells from one of the local churches joins the call from the minaret in marking the rhythm of the day.

The Swiss vote and the limits of multiculturalism in Europe

by İBRAHİM KALIN

The Swiss vote last Sunday to ban the building of minarets in new mosques in Switzerland came as a shock to many. Some dismissed the vote as a trivial issue. Only half of the Swiss citizens, they argued, participated in the referendum, and about 58 percent of those said no to the minarets.

?Civilized and peace-loving? Switzerland!

by STAR MUSTAFA ERDOĞAN
Swiss approval of a national referendum banning the building of new minarets on mosques in their country was greeted with surprise not only in Turkey and the Islamic world, but in different spots across the globe.

Aryan Supremacy Reigns Supreme in Switzerland

from The White Path

[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News] You must have heard that the open-minded people of Switzerland took to the polls last weekend to ban minarets – in a country where there are only four of them. These days, the global news is full of stories and commentaries about this apparently democratic, yet shockingly illiberal decision. But if you really want to understand the undercurrents that led the majority of the Swiss society to this unbelievable point, I would suggest watching a 1940 film, “Der Ewige Jude.” This was an anti-Semitic “documentary” produced by Fritz Hippler, who, under Joseph Goebbels, ran the film department in the Propaganda Ministry of the Third Reich. The 62-minute film, whose title means “The Eternal Jew,” was made to convince its German audience that Jews were dangerous creatures who, simply by their existence, threatened the civilized society of the Aryan peoples.

Religious and political leaders criticise Swiss ban on minarets

from Wikinews

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

A map showing the location of Switzerland

Religious and political leaders from around the world have criticised the ban on building minarets as part of the Swiss referendum held in November.

AJC Dismayed at Swiss Minaret Ban

Intolerance: The new Swiss export? / Features / Home – Morning Star

How the Right Is Wrong: The Bizarre Logic Behind the Swiss Minaret Ban

by Turkish Digest

SPIEGEL ONLINE – News – International

“How the Right Is Wrong
The Bizarre Logic Behind the Swiss Minaret Ban

By Yassin Musharbash

Us against them. That is how Europe’s right wing sees the Swiss ban on minarets. After all, so goes the logic, Christians in the Muslim world aren’t doing any better. But the argument is the height of intellectual laziness. The two groups simply cannot be compared.

What were the Swiss thinking?

by ZAMAN AHMET TURAN ALKAN
The same Swiss who have become uncomfortable seeing minarets, who fear their own religions are being interfered with and who believe they are dealing with a reality which is ?anathema to general custom and tradition? could have taken up this business in a much simpler and more effective way: a court decision.

MAIN FOCUS: Minaret ban still making waves | 04/12/2009

from euro|topics

The debate over the Swiss referendum against minarets continues. The media condemn illiberal traditions and the lacking sense of community in Europe.

1 thought on “Minaret referendum updates”

  1. Hi Erkan,

    I love the picture! Someone was joking about the Swiss Muslims who’d have to call each others to the prayer using an alphorn (which they’ll have previously learnt how to use, alongside some yoddling), from wooden minarets, attached to chalet-like mosques (with nice red flowers on the muezzin balcony), to show how they can literally “integrate” into the postal card picture of Switzerland!

    Ok, the shock is wearing off a bit, but I’ll support any legal actions that can counter this discrimination, which a majority of voters have introduced in our constitution! I don’t think I have felt so angry for a long time!

    Reply

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