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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New Islam-Professorship at the University of Hamburg

22.06.2011 The University of Hamburg established a professorship for Islamic Studies and Islamic Theology at the Academy of World Religions. In the fall of 2011, Katajan Amirpur (40), a German of Iranian origin who has previously worked at the University of Zurich, will take up the professorship in Hamburg. The University honoured Amirpur as an…

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Switzerland not a Top Target for Terrorism

A recent conference held by the Center for Security Studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich has restated the belief that Switzerland is not a top target for international terrorism. While some participants called for caution concerning the very term “terrorism,” Guido Steinberg from the Berlin Foundation of Science and Politics warned…

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Winterthur Approves Muslim Cemetery

November 1-9, 2010 Following Bern, Lucerne and Zurich, the city of Winterthur will soon become the latest Swiss city to have a Muslim section in the local cemetery. The project has been planned since 2008, and following a unanimous vote in the city council it will also receive a loan of 1.53 million Swiss francs….

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Government Takes Action against Forced Marriages

16 September, 2010 Following the publication of a report on forced marriages in Zurich, the Ministry of Justice is now drawing up a bill on the issue which is expected by the end of 2010. The bill may lead to tougher penalties, and is designed to improving the legal tools which can be used to…

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