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Over 57 percent of Swiss voters on Sunday approved a blanket ban on the construction of Muslim minarets, according to official results posted by Swiss news agency ATS.
A final tally of 26 cantons indicates that 57.5 percent of the population have voted in favour of the ban on minarets -- the turrets or towers attached on mosques from where Muslims are called to prayer.
Only four cantons rejected the proposal brought by Switzerland's biggest party -- the Swiss People's Party (SVP), which claims that minarets symbolise a "political-religious claim to power."
The SVP had forced a referendum under Swiss regulations on the issue after collecting 100,000 signatures within 18 months from eligible voters.
The Swiss government was firmly against the call, arguing that accepting a ban would bring about "incomprehension overseas and harm Switzerland's image."
Switzerland has an uneasy relationship with its Muslim population of some 400,000 in a country of 7.5 million people. Islam is the second largest religion here after Christianity.
Copyright 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. | ||
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Wake Up North America
Swiss Vote Bans Muslim Minarets
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1 comment:
This is a huge step for the Swiss. It amazed me how close the vote was. One article I read mentioned how other countries in Europe were facing defining their culture in view of the influx of Islam and the lack of assimilation it brings. The article mentioned "Christ and post-Christian" countries. May we never accept a post-Christian designation.
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