Switzerland’s decision to ban minarets has sparked outrage by Muslim-Americans who have called the vote “xenophobic and bigoted.” The Swiss minaret ban, agreed by voters on Sunday, heightens a general concern by Muslims in the United States about the challenges faced by Muslims living in Europe. “Our fear is that the ban is going to…
R. Albert Mohler, Jr.: The banning of minarets appears to be a cowardly move that contradicts Swiss commitments to religious freedom and tolerance. Singling out minarets in this ban is tantamount to isolating Islam and relegating it to second-class status – all protests to the contrary notwithstanding. The Muslim minaret is the central architectural symbol…
The director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Ambassador Janez Lenarcic, expressed concern today at the outcome of the referendum held in Switzerland on Sunday on the ban of the construction of minarets. “A blanket prohibition of minarets is not consistent with OSCE commitments on freedom of religion or belief…
This article points to the rise in popularity of the National Front in the polls alongside the Swiss minaret ban, in the context of the commission on niqab and burqa-use in France headed by André Gerin. It will make its recommendations in January 2010.
In an opinion piece for Le Monde newspaper, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has deplored the “excessive” French media and political reaction to the Swiss minaret ban. In his article, he reminds the French people of their Republican values of tolerance and openness and of the mutual respect between “those who arrive” and “those who welcome.”…
