Nashwa Abdel-Tawab gauges responses to this week's Swiss ban on the construction of minarets Last Sunday's Swiss vote to ban the building of minarets was denounced by opponents as unconstitutional, violating freedom of religion and a cherished tradition of tolerance. The referendum, proposed by the right-wing Federal Democratic Union, was preceded by a campaign claiming that Switzerland was being "Islamisised". One poster that appeared in Swiss streets depicted a Swiss flag covered in missile-like minarets with a portrait of a woman in a black niqab. The motion was opposed by church leaders in Switzerland, as well as by the government. The minaret, argued the motion's sponsors, represents a whole list of political demands, including the compulsory wearing of the niqab and acceptance of honour killings and of female genital mutiliation. They noted that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan once compared mosques to Islam's military barracks and called minarets "our bayonets". "They perceive of minarets as missiles and symbols of aggression while we see them as a peaceful call for daawa (preaching and advocacy)," said Fadel Soliman, director of the Bridges Foundation, an international organisation that seeks to close the gap between Muslims and non Muslims through educating each side about the culture of the other. There are around 400,000 Muslims in Switzerland out of a total population of 7.7 million. The majority of Swiss Muslims are from Turkey, Bosnia and Kosovo. Islam is the second most popular religion in the country. Yet there are only four minarets in the whole of Switzerland. "When I heard about the ban I couldn't believe my ears," said Soliman. "Switzerland, land of democracy, is embracing bigotry. At first I thought the motive behind the referendum was architectural, that minarets were perceived as clashing with Swiss architecture. Now it's clear the motives behind the move are racist. On a positive note, however, such racist moves prompt decent people in the West, whether politicians or public opinion leaders, to rally against the bigots." Many international organisations, including Amnesty International, have warned against the ban. The Vatican joined Muslim leaders in expressing its dismay over the measure, while the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, issued a statement saying that prohibiting architectural structures linked to any religion was "clearly discriminatory". He urged people everywhere "to take this issue of discrimination seriously". "If allowed to gather momentum, discrimination and intolerance not only do considerable harm to individual members of the targeted group, they also divide and harm society in general," Pillay warned. Many Muslims in Egypt and elsewhere view the move as yet another instance of Islamophobia. "Most painful for us is not the minaret ban, but the symbolism of the vote. Muslims do not feel accepted," said Farhad Afshar, Coordinator-General of Islamic Organisations in Switzerland. Youssef Ibram, imam of the Geneva mosque, the largest in Switzerland, called on the Muslim world to "respect without accepting" the outcome of the referendum, and to avoid severing ties with Switzerland. Ibram nonetheless sharply criticized the Swiss authorities for not intervening more forcefully in defence of religious freedom during the referendum campaign. In Cairo, the grand mufti of Egypt denounced the move as an "insult" to Muslims around the world. "The minaret in itself is not a must in Islamic teachings but it's an architectural design that helps the call to prayer to reach everywhere," said Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa. "Even if technology makes the minaret of no use that doesn't mean it's not important. The country's four standing minarets, which won't be affected by the ban, do not traditionally broadcast the call to prayer outside their own buildings. The minaret is not only a beautiful architectural symbol, it is a symbol of Islamic culture. This ban is both an attack on freedom of belief and an attempt to insult the feelings of Muslims in and outside Switzerland," Gomaa said on Monday. He urged Swiss Muslims to resort to peaceful measures in opposing the ban. "I ask Muslims not to over react but to resort to the law in addressing the issue. A set of corrective and preventive measures, including raising awareness among non- Muslims about the true nature of Islam and dialogue and responsible discussion of Muslim concerns, should be taken," Gomaa told Al-Ahram Weekly. Early on Tuesday a meeting between the Grand Sheikh of Azhar, the Grand Mufti, the Minister of Awqaf and the Swiss ambassador in Egypt ended with the Egyptian side denouncing the ban, and the Swiss ambassador explaining the legal situation pertaining to the referendum, saying that opponents can resort to Swiss legal channels to reverse the decision. Arab League chief Amr Moussa criticised the move as a "violation of the rights of Muslims living in Switzerland". He added that he hoped "the issue will be dealt with by resorting to Swiss and human rights courts". Dr Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, head of the International Union for Muslim Scholars, also warned against the ban."A Muslim in Switzerland can pray in a mosque without a minaret but if he knows that he is being forced to do so and that the law forbids him from doing what he wants, he will feel like an alien in the country and that he is rejected by its people and that will have a decisive negative impact on the loyalty he feels towards the state." In a brief but powerful comment, Asaad Abu Khalil, a Lebanese- American professor of political science at California State University wrote in his Angry Arab blog: "What happened in Switzerland is quite significant. Of course, only the ignorant would associate Switzerland with equality and tolerance: just remember - as I always remind my students - that women were only granted the right to vote in 1971. Enough said. But what is quite outrageous is the extent to which US (and Western) media are not treating this as the international outrage that it is." (see p.7)
