Opinion | Editorials
Xenophobia trumps freedom
Switzerland's constitution defends freedom of religion, but its voters don't
- Gulf News
- Published: 00:00 December 1, 2009
Voters across normally neutral Switzerland have approved a right-wing proposal to ban construction of new minarets.
This xenophobic and anti-Muslim decision is short-sighted and will likely have adverse implications for the nation's economic ties with Muslim countries.
According to media reports, 57.5 per cent of voters supported the proposition from the right-wing Swiss People's Party. Only four cantons of the 26 in Switzerland rejected the proposal.
The Swiss have long taken pride in their neutrality and their democracy. The Alpine nation uses a series of frequent plebiscites to form government policy. Sadly, this decision by the voters was seemingly based on fear and xenophobia, which have become all too common across Europe, particularly since the 9/11 attacks.
There is no shortage of high steeples from Christian places of worship dominating the lush and verdant alpine valleys and villages. But the notion of any more than the current four minarets — four minarets in a country of seven million people — is simply too much to fathom.
The rationale was to prevent further "Islamisation" in Switzerland.
While the nation guarantees freedom of religion, there is obviously a disconnect between that sentiment and the expression as witnessed in this stunning decision by the Swiss electorate.
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