Three members of Switzerland’s seven-strong cabinet have publicly condemned a campaign by rightwingers to ban the construction of minarets On Monday Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, who also holds the rotating Swiss presidency, told journalists in Geneva that such an initiative “could put Swiss interests and Swiss citizens in danger”. Her comments came a day after…
Swiss conservative Christoph Blocher, head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police, said he is unconvinced of the benefits of a conference to discuss Islam and integration. While he expects dialogue to occur, he is unsure what the appropriate forum would be. Blocher supports a ban on minarets which he argues have no place…
Right-wing politicians from Switzerland’s largest political party on Thursday launched a campaign for a referendum to ban the construction of minarets on mosques, claiming they symbolized an Islamist bid for power. The group, including more than half of the Swiss People’s Party’s (SVP) parliamentarians, said in a statement that a ban would help stop “attempts…
The former spokesman of the Mosque in Geneva, Hafid Ouardiri, is considering launching an initiative to help Muslims integrate themselves into Swiss society. He shared this idea in an interview on Wednesday in the weekly publication “GHI.” “We hope to utitilize the tools of citizenship to participate in public debate,” he emphasized in a column…
Confined to makeshift halls, the Muslim communities of Wangen and Langenthal hope for more visibility for their places of worship. But opposition continues to grow. Presently only two symbolic minarets, in Zurich and in Geneva, are serving the needs of the 350,000 Swiss Muslims.
