Dec 2, 2009 - 09:21

Swiss cities march against minaret ban

Up to 8,000 people in the French-speaking part of Switzerland took to the streets on Tuesday evening to protest against the minaret ban.

Voters accepted a ban on the construction of minarets in a referendum on Sunday by 57.5 per cent.

A march in Lausanne attracted up to 5,000 supporters, while a demonstration in Geneva was attended by more than 2,000 people, with smaller protests taking place in other towns.

In Lausanne the crowd marched from the cathedral to the mosque shouting "no to exclusion" and "no to discrimination".

In front of the mosque, representatives of the Muslim community thanked the four cantons – Basel City, Geneva, Vaud and Neuchâtel – which voted against the minaret ban. "You warmed our hearts," they said.

The protests were organised by the Movement Against Racism with support from the Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim communities.

Candlelit vigils of several hundred people were organised in the French-speaking towns of Fribourg, Biel, Neuchâtel and Sion.

swissinfo.ch and agencies

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George , Spain, -

There's no democracy for muslims, only if people do whatever they demand. i.g: Muslims asked to close Swiss accounts. Is this democracy? Switzerland said YES to the ban, so they must respect their decision or go back to their countries.

John Duval , Finland, -

When will the citizens of Saudi Arabia protest demanding it's government to allow building of a church in Saudi Arabia ?

FG , United Kingdom, -

This was a democratic vote. Your chance to say your piece was before Sunday. Tough.

BOB KEATCH , Australia, -

Minorets are not needed . They are generallally allowed to play offensive and loud mesagages. The local Christian Church is not allowed to 'ring their bells' on Sunday. Muslims are taking a large hold of our accepted organisational lifefestyle to the detriment of society. R. A. Keatch.

Lynx , Switzerland, -

But it's not racism. It's religionism, if anything. I was in a Muslim country recently, with Minarets everywhere. Yes, they look very nice and I would accept them in my country if there wasn't all of that horrible wailing. But, to make things more even, can we get rid of those noisy church bells that keep me awake at night & disturb my peace during the day?

Daniel , Turkey, -

Perhaps one of the most disgusting displays of dhimmitude by those pro-7th-Century protesters was a banner, whose picture I saw on the Tagesschau website, stating "we're all muslims." Well, for that to be true, they'd have to stand for misogyny, racism (especially against black people), no minimum age at which girls should be married, opposition to both gay and women's rights, and inferior legal status for non-muslims. That's just more proof that the pro-minaret camp couldn't care less for democracy, equality for all before the law and human rights, all of which are totally incompatible with mohammedanism. Perhaps those shameless protesters should all go live as non-muslims in islamic countries for a couple of years, and after that let us all see if they would still have the same opinions about a political ideology masquerading as a religion which requires that its followers oppose and destroy everything and everyone non-muslim.

HAT , Switzerland, -

This is not atypical. My neighbour openly criticised me during the yearly management meeting for putting my babypram inside the bicycle room, saying this reduces the room for her bicycles. On the same night, the husband came to me and said it was ok and not to take the complaint seriously. So one day you vote 57% and then the next day you march in protest against it? It is commonly known as "hypocritical" in other parts of the world. However I do understand some people need to show that they are against this result. But I am sure many of those marching, had previously voted for the ban and now they are marching. Every Swiss colleague I asked in the office, proclaimed that they voted against the ban. Are they being truthful?

AA , Switzerland, -

Get a life you people and get over it...the people have spoken and have stood up to be counted...up to 8,000 people in French speaking parts does constitute the rest of the country. The decision was spot on and decided by the people. Demonstrate as much as you like, it was the right decision, opined by the people. It is not a racist or religious decision, but one that people feel is right, and also unnecessary to have 'minarets' in a God fearing Christian country. Great Britain should watch and learn. Bravo to Switzerland for their people deciding. That is the whole point of the referendum system.

ganesh , Australia, -

It saddens me to see this kind of intolerence taking place in Switzerland, I spent 2 years as a student there in the early 90's in the french speaking part of Valais & hold many fond memories, but thinking back I can now see that even then, the French parts were definitely more friendly & welcoming than the German areas, which is reflected in the voting patterns now. This will cause great harm to the image & reputation of Switzerland globally & the Swiss people should realise they can't live alone in isolation in a globalized economy & that decisions like this will have economic consequences.

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