So, uh, can one of our Euro residents tell me what the hell this is all about?
Because seriously, this is the kind of thing I’d expect to hear coming from rural Alabama.
Also, in the US there’s basically no way this would withstand a constitutional challenge. Are their similar avenues in Switzerland to challenge this?
I can’t take any article seriously when they use the phrase “slap in the face.”
Minarets really don’t fit in with classical Swiss architecture… so what’s the problem?
Though not Swiss, I would imagine it is indicative of a general uneasiness about the spread of Islam in Switzerland. Were similar votes to be held throughout Europe I think you might well find them voting that way as well. Had it been a vote purely on the presence of an alien architectural style in Switzerland, without any of the accompanying context I’m fairly sure there would not have been a vote, let alone a yes vote.
I think it ought to be born in mind that this doesn’t ban the building of mosques, just the adorning of them with minarets.
The BBC use that phrase very frequently.
This is like HOAs banning people from painting their houses any color but white or beige, except it’s country-wide.
My question is, do those two Swiss mosques call for prayers from the minarets? If not, there isn’t really any point to having them other than symbolic significance in the same way that having a church with a steeple has a significance to many Christian worshipers. If they do, I wonder how they get around noise ordinances.
It just brings back memories of people on some MMO forums complaining about a nerf and how it’s a “slap in the face” to their class. It just automatically sets the tone of the article to “whine” – at least to me. :\
Skyscrapers don’t fit with classical Swiss architecture either, but no one is banning them.This is discrimination based on the fear that the gays are going to take over their country. I mean muslims.
Based on that article and the Wikipedia article on the topic, it’s a ban on minarets specifically, not a ban based on structures not conforming to surrounding architectural styles. It’s the difference between a rule that targets a religion specifically and a rule that is neutral in its application.
Whoa, really? To be fair, we should ban all religions. Be a better world.
I don’t think it’s a fear that Muslims are going to take over their country, but concern that they are going to seriously impact the cultural way of life of Switzerland.
Heidi wearing muslim garb would suck.
This is just the latest in a line of recent racist political behaviour in Switzerland. One of the worst countries in Europe in my opinion - institutionalized racism (according to their own reports and the UN) and helping to protect the wealth and dodgy dealings of the worlds tyrants and minority elite. Here are a few other stories on the racism angle:
Then there was the controversy over this poster by a far right party:
…which seemingly helped cement an earlier large swing to that far right party (the SVP) six years ago which first made them the largest party in government. The SVP recorded the largest ever vote in a swiss general election (29%) in 2007. There has been some attempt to hit back at this ‘voice of the people’ by the previous ruling elite as moderates and leftists banded together to block the extreme leader of the SVP from gaining a seat in the swiss cabinet in switzerlands complex political system.
Oh, and here is the poster that was used to promote the ban on minarets:
Screw the SVP and those that voted for them.
Who are you and what have you done with Midnight Son?
Does religious intolerance somehow not matter when it happens outside of the US?
See what I did there?
To be fair, how important are Minarets anyways? They can worship without them, so I fail to see the necessity…
And if the people don’t want to see the minarets, or any other architechtural construction that is inspired by another culture (like a China town), then it is their right to impose a ban on such constructions.
Well, how are you going to enforce our laws over there in Switzerland? Separation of Church and State is the law in the US and you see how well that works. They are probably the purest “Democracy” there is with all that implies, i.e. mob rule, etc.
They should tear down the Christian steeples! That seems fair to me.
I never implied that US law should somehow magically govern the Swiss. What I did imply is that religious intolerance enshrined into law is a Bad Thing ™, and is something any modern western democracy ought to be ashamed of.
I’m just really surprised that you of all people seem to think this sort of thing is appropriate. Whatever, man, as long as you still get your expensive chocolates and awesome ski vacations, it’s all OK I guess.
