News and Analysis on Islam in Europe and North America
Contributed by Benjamin Bruce
5/8/2013 According to a report published earlier this week, the vast majority of Muslims living in Switzerland are well integrated into society. The report found that Muslim religious affiliation does not pose a problem to Muslims’ everyday lives and rarely generates conflicts. The report focused on the situation of Muslims in Switzerland, and was
Islam is the fastest growing religion in Western Europe today. As a consequence, the emergence and growth of Muslim religious congregations is one of the most important changes that have taken place within the European third (or voluntary) sector in the last 20 years. However, more often than not, these congregations are described as “enclaves”
A Swiss army lieutenant has been declared a security risk by the Swiss federal constitutional court and has decided that he should be kept away from all confidential information. Gibril Muhammad Zwicker converted to Islam three years ago and has since become a member of the controversial Central Islamic Council of Switzerland (IZRS). Zwicker has
A recent study by Christopher Morgenthaler of Bern University on the relationship between Swiss youth and religion has shown that religion remains an important part of their lives: 40% characterize themselves as a “religious person,” somewhat higher than in France (35%), the UK (32%), or Germany (32%), though far behind Italy (84%). More surprisingly, the
The Federation of Swiss Islamic Organizations (FIDS) and the Coordination of Islamic Organizations in Switzerland (KIOS) announced recently their intention to merge and create a “religious parliament” in order to represent the Muslims of Switzerland and receive official recognition from the state. Andreas Tunger-Zanetti, specialist of Islam and coordinator of the Center for Religious Studies