Swiss referendum against minarets moves forward

The Swiss People’s party has organized a referendum that would ban the construction of minarets on mosques in Switzerland. Arguing that the minarets are a symbol of political and religious claims to power, not just a religious sign, Ulrich Schluer of the SPP has said: “We’ve got nothing against prayer rooms or mosques for the Muslims. But a minaret is different. It’s got nothing to do with religion; it’s a symbol of political power.”

It seems an odd way of bifurcating the issue. If, as Schluer suggests, Islam is not just a religion but a political movement aimed at gaining political power, then don’t prayer rooms and mosques spread Muslim political power as much as minarets do? However, while not all the way there yet, Schluer has nevertheless articulated the key truth about Islam, refuting the claim to “religious freedom” which has allowed it to spread its numbers and power in the West. As someone said recently at VFR, the Civil Rights movement went one step at a time; the salvation of the West from Islam may have to go the same way. When the peoples of the West grasp that Islam itself is political, and not just Islamic minarets, they will be able not just to inhibit the expressions of Islam in their countries, as in this present referendum, but to remove it altogether.

Furthermore, even a ban on minarets alone, by conveying the message that Islam is not wanted, may discourage Muslims from coming to Switzerland, and persuade some of those who are already in Switzerland to leave, resulting in a net out-migration of Muslims. One can dream, can’t one?

Here’s the whole story, from the Guardian:

Swiss far right forces vote on minaret ban
Matthew Weaver and agencies
Tuesday July 8 2008 guardian.co.uk

Far right groups in Switzerland have collected enough signatures to force a nationwide referendum on banning minarets, the distinctive towers of Islamic architecture.

In what is being seen as a sign of growing Islamophobia in Europe, more than 100,000 Swiss citizens signed a petition to halt the construction of minarets.

Under Switzerland’s direct democracy rules, that level of support is enough to trigger a referendum. The Swiss interior ministry today confirmed a vote would take place, without setting a date.

The petition was launched by Ulrich Schlüer an MP from the controversial Swiss People’s party, which was accused of racist campaigning last year.

In a bid to get immigrants’ families deported if their children had been convicted of violent crime, the party ran an advertising campaign showing three white sheep on a Swiss flag kicking out a black sheep with the caption: “For more security.”

The president of Switzerland, Pascal Couchepin, said the government would recommend that voters rejected the proposed minaret ban.

The organisers of the petition argue that the minarets, which are used on mosques, are a symbol of political and religious claims to power, not just a religious sign.

Schlüer said last year: “We’ve got nothing against prayer rooms or mosques for the Muslims. But a minaret is different. It’s got nothing to do with religion; it’s a symbol of political power.”

If Schlüer’s camp wins the referendum, the Swiss parliament must pass a law enshrining a minaret construction ban in the constitution.

Opponents say such a ban would violate religious freedom.

More than 310,000 of Switzerland’s 7.5 million population are Muslims, according to the federal statistical office.

The UN expert on racism, Doudou Diene, has said the campaign is evidence of an “ever-increasing trend” toward anti-Islamic actions in Europe.

[end of article.]

Gilbert B., who sent the article, notes:

The centre-right Christian Democratic Party with its traditional Catholic background has called the idea of banning minarets unconstitutional, dangerous and stupid.

Phil M. writes from England:

This is the way: small, incremental steps. Liberals will tell the Swiss the sky will fall in, the world will declare war on Switzerland and so on. But it won’t, and when the next anti-Islamic measures are proposed, this will be another line of attack the left will find discredited.

(July 10) Gilbert B. sends more information on this story:

A quote from Swissinfo, 8 July 2008

The centre-right Christian Democratic Party with its traditional Catholic background has called the idea of banning minarets unconstitutional, dangerous and stupid. The country’s association of Protestant churches has rejected it as divisive.

Marcel Stüssi, a researcher at Lucerne University … says any ban would be incompatible with articles of international law to which Switzerland is a signatory. In the event that Swiss voters were to ban minarets, any of the 107 other signatories to the Vienna Convention of the Law of Treaties of 1969 could launch action against Switzerland.—from Brussels Journal

Gilbert continues:

This would not be a violation of the First Amendment, since Islam is not a religion as ordinarily understood. Islam is a tyrannical religio-political system aimed at the destruction of every non-Islamic government including our own.

LA replies:

I of course agree with your position, but the factual premise, that Islam is a tyrannical religio-political system and not just a religion, has not yet been generally established. People do not know this to be true. So before we can proceed to denying Islam religious freedom, we must first persuade our respective societies that Islam is not simply a religion.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at July 09, 2008 12:47 PM | Send