The vote to ban the construction of minarets in Switzerland has been a wake-up call to both the government and Swiss Muslims, round table talks have shown. Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf met six representatives of Islamic organisations in Bern on Monday, to discuss the situation of Muslims in the light of the anti-minaret vote passed…
Switzerland recently passed a controversial referendum to ban minarets in the country, provoking uproar, intense debate and even protest. The move is regarded by many as “deeply divisive,” says UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, as well as a major setback for American and European public diplomacy in the Arab world. Sweden, which…
“Would a ban on minaret construction be good for the Netherlands? Some Dutch politicians think so. We visit the Rotterdam mosque at the center of the discussion.”
Islamists, some of them from Turkey, have hacked over 2,000 Swiss websites and sabotaged them by putting up Swastikas and other fascist symbols, equating the Swiss to fascists after the vote on the minaret ban. They also left a message, saying “Our war against the enemies of the true religion of Islam will go on”….
In Turkey, the Swiss referendum banning the building of new minarets is perceived as just another example of Islamophobia and discrimination against Muslims. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “This decision is primitive, outdated, and manifestation of a Western understanding.” Warning that this decision rings alarm bells, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu added “There is an…
