How to deal with extremist voices: Inclusion of hard-line Salafi in TV debate causes uproar in Germany

‘My life for Allah’ Recent reports indicate that the flow of German recruits to the jihadist groups on the Syrian battlefields is declining.1 Nevertheless, among all European countries, Germany comes second in terms of the number of its citizens that have joined ISIS, al-Nusra Front, or related groups. Against this backdrop, the German public broadcaster…

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Three Lessons from Switzerland’s Immigration Referendum

February 24, 2014   BERLIN—On February 9, a small majority of Swiss voters approved a proposal by the right-wing populist Swiss People’s Party (SVP) to significantly limit migration inflows from other European countries. The Swiss vote garnered attention across Europe because it now requires the renegotiation of certain agreements between the European Union and Switzerland…

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Swiss referendum on immigration

February 12, 2014   According to Robert Misik, Xenophobia was just one of the reasons why 50.3% of those who voted in Switzerland’s recent referendum on immigration back strict quotas for immigration from European Union countries; a provincial mentality and anti-EU sentiment also played a role.   Read more: http://en.qantara.de/content/swiss-referendum-on-immigration-the-swiss-against-the-world

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SWITZERLAND: No Muslims in the Cemetery

On Monday, The City Council of Schlieren, a town of 13,000 inhabitants on the outskirts of Zurich, rejected a proposal to create a space for Muslims within the town’s cemetery. Many religious organizations have reacted branding the decision as a “regrettable setback in integration policy.” This is a particular travesty because 16.5% of the population…

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Muslims pose no ‘threat’ to Switzerland

Following the controversial debate on integration and assimilation of Islam in Switzerland, which led to the legal passing of a right-wing initiative of the populist SVP party against the construction of minarets in the country in 2009, three postulates requested to urgently obtain further information upon the state of affair of the Muslim community in…

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