Thread: Switzerland Votes to Ban Minarets

They have some pretty inflammatory posters to go with the campaign.

Switzerland Votes on Proposal to Ban Minarets - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News - FOXNews.com

Looks like it passed, but will probably be tossed in the Swiss Supreme Court.

Thinking of places off hand... Malaysia (a Muslim state), Indonesia (a Muslim majority), and many parts of Pakistan are tolerant to women who do not wear hijab. But like AmericanIMG said, it really depends exactly where you are.

This is a very tough issue to discuss - as I am neither Swiss, nor a muslim (and my understanding of both groups is based solely on what little I have read about the topics).

On one hand, I think that people have the right to ban or allow what they wish in their own community.

On the other hand, this sounds a bit discriminatory to me.

Might I also add that Switzerland is the closest thing to a "pure democracy" left on earth - meaning that the majority rules. Such decisions as this one is not unlike what happened during the days of the Congregationalist rule in the Massachusetts colony in pre-Revolutionary America - and one of the reasons why our founding fathers decided to shy away from "mob rule" (Democracy).

Originally Posted by Slaol_121

This is a very tough issue to discuss - as I am neither Swiss, nor a muslim (and my understanding of both groups is based solely on what little I have read about the topics).

On one hand, I think that people have the right to ban or allow what they wish in their own community.

On the other hand, this sounds a bit discriminatory to me.

And on the other side of that coin, one could claim that Switzerland is a racist state. I mean they didn't even hide their intentions. It's not like they said, minarets are asthetically unpleasing or cause a danger due to their height. They basically said, minarets symbolize Islam and we don't want it here.

Its' not like they even overran the place. According to the article, the three current minarets would stay, but this would prevent the building of anyone new ones.

Since the U.N. headquarters in Geneva, you would think they would be a little more tolerant to this.

Originally Posted by tegraphile

According to the article, the three current minarets would stay, but this would prevent the building of anyone new ones.

Sounds more like a zoning decision to me.

I'm not saying I agree with it, but a lot of communities in the US have very strict laws outlining what can and cannot be built.

Originally Posted by Slaol_121

Sounds more like a zoning decision to me.

I'm not saying I agree with it, but a lot of communities in the US have very strict laws outlining what can and cannot be built.

Well yes this is a "zoning" or "building code" type of law. We'll see how the Swiss courts handle the discriminatory nature of the law.

This is more than the issue of minarets. Europe birth rates are really really low and Islamic birth rates are high plus immigration and different culture --> demographic changes of Europe. These demographic changes are scaring people and political parties are taking advantage of it. Unfortunately the society of Europe needs these people to help pay the pension for their aging indeigenous population.

We don't see the same sort of thing in north america because it is a relatively new continent, almost all ethnicities and religious groups are descendants of immigrants and assimilate well and most of the indigenous population was destroyed through smallpox and wars a long time ago.