An umbrella group for Swiss Muslims says they should be able to be buried “with dignity” and is therefore calling for Islamic cemeteries in every Swiss canton.
This content was published on
1 minute
Farhad Afshar, president of the Coordination of Islamic Organisations in Switzerland, told the Sunday newspaper Sonntag he was preparing a legal case concerning freedom of religion.
He said that following the Bernese commune of Köniz’s recent rejection of a separate burial ground for Muslims, a legal ruling was necessary so that “the next time someone says no [to an Islamic cemetery] they are violating freedom of religion”.
Islamic law says Muslims should not be buried with those of a different faith – something already possible in some Swiss cities, for example Zurich, Bern, Basel and Geneva.
The Muslim community in Switzerland accounts for about 4.5 per cent of the population. Most Muslim immigrants came from the former Yugoslavia and Turkey. The community includes up to 100 nationalities.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss Muslims put their problems on the table
This content was published on
Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf met six representatives of Islamic organisations in Bern on Monday, to discuss the situation of Muslims in the light of the anti-minaret vote passed by the Swiss public on November 29. It was the third such meeting since the anti-minaret initiative was launched, but the first since it was passed. Follow-up…
This content was published on
Commentators say the swift reaction by ministers is partly due to fears that it could lead to a backlash against Switzerland in the Muslim world. The campaign to force a nationwide vote on minarets was launched two weeks ago. Driven by a group of rightwing politicians, it is widely seen as a simple piece of…
This content was published on
Ever since the launch of the campaign in July 2008 to ban the construction of minarets in Switzerland, online pundits have rushed to their keyboards to attack minarets – or minaret attackers – on swissinfo.ch’s nine language sites. Our Arab site continues to receive a particularly high amount of feedback, especially since it includes comments…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.