The New York Times reports:
GENEVA — In a vote that displayed a widespread anxiety about Islam and undermined the country’s reputation for religious tolerance, the Swiss on Sunday overwhelmingly imposed a national ban on the construction of minarets, the prayer towers of mosques, in a referendum drawn up by the far right and opposed by the government.
It had to be voted on because two political parties proposed adding the ban to the constitution. But the government doesn’t like it.
The Swiss government said it would respect the vote and sought to reassure the Muslim population — mostly immigrants from other parts of Europe, like Kosovo and Turkey — that the minaret ban was “not a rejection of the Muslim community, religion or culture.”
There might have been other motives besides reassuring the Muslim population.
That debate prompted the government to mount a public relations campaign overseas to try to avoid a backlash like the one Denmark faced in Islamic countries after a newspaper published cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, and to avoid damage to lucrative commercial and banking ties with wealthy Muslims.
Switzerland doesn’t appear to have much of a problem with militant Islam at this point.
Of 150 mosques or prayer rooms in Switzerland, only 4 have minarets, and only 2 more minarets are planned. None conduct the call to prayer. There are about 400,000 Muslims in a population of some 7.5 million people. Close to 90 percent of Muslims in Switzerland are from Kosovo and Turkey, and most do not adhere to the codes of dress and conduct associated with conservative Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, said Manon Schick, a spokeswoman for Amnesty International in Switzerland.
But the people see what is happening in other European countries. And they don’t want it. The Swiss are probably the most nationalistic country in Europe, in terms of taking action to keep their country Swiss. They were neutral during WWII, and every other war. They have universal military service (for men) and keep their guns at home. This insularity was not good for the Jews. A Google alert link I got last night (which I can’t open) says:
In total, the Swiss deported more than 30000 Jewish refugees, most of whom were subsequently murdered by the Nazis. Those allowed to remain in Switzerland were held in detention camps so as to keep from taking up permanent residence…
But there are lots of foreigners in Switzerland now; but I doubt if that would be the case had the country’s immigration policies been subject to a vote. As the story makes clear, the government does not represent the feelings of the people. It will be interesting to see how this complex story plays out.
Update: Here is a great post from David Pryce-Jones on the National Review website. It’s far more informative than the New York Times article. Some excerpts:
The ban follows quite a bit of contention which started when the king of Saudi Arabia bought a house on the shore of Lake Geneva. Launching a building program without first obtaining the requisite permits, he was obliged to stop and pull down extensions. Geneva already had a mosque, and when the Saudis wanted to build another one, the city fathers replied that permission would be granted only when the Saudis reciprocated by allowing the building of a church in Saudi Arabia.
Would that every government were as brave and forthright as this. And here’s why it became an issue:
In a population of some seven million there are 400,000 Muslims worshipping in about 150 mosques, half a dozen of them with minarets. In the small town of Wangen, in 2005, the imam of a largely Turkish community applied to add a minaret to his mosque. He was allowed to do so, but the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan, a crypto-Islamist, had been unwise enough to issue a blanket defiance to Western countries: “Mosques are our barracks, domes our helmets, minarets our bayonets.” A politician by the name of Christoph Blocher picked up the challenge and made a national issue of it. A lawyer by training, he is a successful industrialist, the founder of the Swiss People’s Party which has a right-wing platform, and he has been a government minister.
Western countries should all take such actions in response to every Islamist challenge. And here’s Pryce-Jones’s conclusion:
No country in Europe quite knows what to do about the Muslims who have come to live there. What exactly should be conceded to them, and why? These puzzling questions go to the core of national identity. Defying those who claim the right to set the terms of public debate, the Swiss have tried to draw a line. Whether the opinion-making elite of the entire continent will allow them to keep to it is quite another matter.
Comment worth noting: Mr. Parker sure is persistent!
Posted by acorcoran on November 30, 2009
Mr. Ralph Parker is a refugee resettlement volunteer in the Atlanta area who has written to us on several occasions. Most recently, here, he suggests that we need more “balance”* in our reporting on refugees. So, with a smile at Mr. Parker’s persistence, below is a Thanksgiving letter from a Bhutanese refugee, a friend of Mr. Parker’s, and a man grateful to be in America and one who will likely succeed. Mr. Parker thought our readers would enjoy seeing it.
Dear Friends,
It is a THANKSGIVING time and a happy time.
In recent months, many great citizens of this country were involved in helping our Bhutanese people in our transformation process to this new way of life. It is totally different to the way we are brought up and raised.
Take my family, for example. They know manual work, not like high technology work here. We know how to plough the fields using a big bull but not a tractor or the one shown in [children's TV program] Bob the Builder.
We came to this land where human rights and democracy are respected.
After my arrival, I realized that I can wear the clothes of my own choice and can eat the food of my habits. I can speak freely and write freely and can have a lawyer in the court house in one’s defense. What a free world.
My dad used to pay fees for having a radio in my house and that was a source of great entertainment. Few lucky ones used to own this, also. Here everyone has their own TV, computer and wristwatch.
We were never exposed to the greater world… and came from a bamboo hut to a beautiful furnished house where heating and cooling device is under your control. No more running to the muddy rivers. Boy! Clothes can be washed within a few hours.
Yet every evening you go and talk to my friends: they are nervous.
Smoke alarm is beeping. Someone tried to warm a boiled egg in the microwave and there was a big bang. Three people came and robbed our cash, showing a gun. A Bhutanese guy was in a dumpster [to recycle some items], and the pickup truck came. The guy’s friend saw [the situation] yet couldn’t explain in English to the driver that a man was in the dumpster. The driver kept loading the dumpster until, the friend knocked on the door of the truck and pointed to the dumpster. The driver finally understand, and the man’s life was saved.
Cold was the greatest danger for us.
Back in refugee camps, the temperature was always hot. People reached Atlanta with NO warm clothes. Children and older people were the victims, especially. And several HEROS OF MANKIND jumped in and started helping our people. There were child volunteers, young volunteers, old volunteers, female volunteers, male volunteers, and of all colors. No one asked me, What is your race?
There are thousand of such stories and a reality. Now things are getting better. Yet this transformation process definitely will take a long time, and your help and support is always needed.
American citizens are great and now we have to learn this culture too.
I have the pictures of all the volunteers in my memory of my heart. Your love and kindness. Your hard work, time and dedication to improve the living conditions by using your talents is a greatest gift for us. Several projects have began to support us. God, please protect this great people.
Today Tulasi is with his family for Thanksgiving and would like to thank each of you with greatest respect for your support for me, my family and my community.
Wish you a happy Thanksgiving. Namaste [Sanskrit: a friendly greeting, meaning, I bow to you].
— Tulasi, Kumari and Ryan
* On the issue of balance, see my reponse to Mr. Parker, here. Bottomline is that we feel we are balancing the mushy mainstream media reports on refugee resettlement. However, I must say we are seeing more reports in the mainstream media in recent months about problems with the resettlement program and pointing to the need for reform. A case in point is just two days ago when we told you about a Burmese homeless man in Greensboro, NC.
Posted in Comments worth noting, Reforms needed, Refugee Resettlement Program, Resettlement cities | 1 Comment »