The wrong measure

Stands against the ban to the construction of minarets in Switzerland are increasing across Europe. The decision was endorsed by a large majority of the Swiss population with a national referendum held November 29 and will be added to article 72 of the Constitution, regulating relations between the State and the religious confessions. The ban on the construction of minarets will be introduced as “a measure to preserve peace among the members of the different religious communities”. On Tuesday December 1st in the French-speaking area of Switzerland thousands of people rallied in the streets as a sign of protest against the outcome of the referendum. Some 7000 people attended a demonstration in Geneva, while a march from the Cathedral to the Mosque of Lausanne brandished the slogans, “no exclusion” and “for solidarity in Switzeraldn”. In some cities people paraded holding lit candles in sign of protest. (Previous report in SirEurope n.83/2009)Swiss Protestants. In a statement released by the Federation of Swiss Evangelical Churches (FCES) Swiss Protestants expressed their bitterness over the outcome of the referendum banning the construction of Mosques, defining it a real and true “attack to fundamental freedoms”. In the months prior to the referendum FCES promoted information campaigns conveying its opposition to the anti-minarets initiative. FCES President Pastor Thomas Wipf said, “The ban to the construction of minarets doesn’t solve any of our problems. Rather, it creates new ones”. “The fact that religious minorities in our Country now expect to be the object of unfair treatment compared to other religious traditions is unacceptable”. Indeed, mutual respect, a fundamental prerequisite for dialogue and integration, is thus no longer ensured, Wipf said. The Pastor recalled that the right to freely profess one’s faith is a universal human right. In France. French bishops conveyed their stand on the homepage of the Bishops’ Conference, where the firm stand of the Swiss bishops conveyed by spokesman Walter Müller has been posted. “As a believer – remarked the bishop of Blois, Msgr. Maurice de Germiny – I feel hurt by the Swiss vote to ban the construction of new minarets. I share the sadness that the news caused to the Muslims of Loir-et-Cher. The placement of the first stone of the Muslim cultural and worship centre in Blois next December 11 will be an opportunity to highlight the importance of Christian-Muslim dialogue, regardless the majority religion”. “The question of the minarets doesn’t only involve the public opinion and the cultural sensitivity. Religious faith and freedoms are also at stake”. Father Christophe Roucou, director of the French Church Department for Relations with Muslims, said that the referendum “risks leading Muslims unto believing that professing their faith in Europe is impossible”. “Those who supported the referendum based themselves on collective imagination insinuating fears in the voters and triggering prejudice”. In Germany. In an interview with German Catholic news agency KNA, Otmar Oehring, expert in Islam for the Catholic charity work Missio, mentioned the repercussions of the referendum of the minarets in Swizerland. While the Swiss vote won’t help change the situation in Islamic countries, “we should be concerned that right-winged groups across Europe have endorsed this claim”. “The worst aspect is the point of view of the overall population. I’m not sure that a similar referendum in Germany would bring the same result”. Religions for peace. “Banning minarets in Swizerland: a sad day for Europe”, Lutheran bishop Gunnar Stalsett, moderator of the European chapter of Religions for Peace, commented on the news. “I was shocked when I learned the outcome of the referendum in Switzerland. I lived there for ten years and have appreciated the openness and the tolerance of the Swiss population. It is a deplorable damage not only to the reputation of the Swiss population. The vote also thwarts the construction of integration and tolerance in Europe”. “Religions for peace” underlined the “surging fundamentalism and isolation spreading in a number of Countries”. Hence the commitment of the European body to “promote a culture of peace, and mutual dialogue between Muslims, Jews, Christians and the other religious faiths representatives in Europe”.