Muslims in the eastern town of Wil will not apply to build a minaret for their planned Islamic centre, after Sunday's anti-minaret vote.
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Hisham Maizar, chairman of the umbrella organisation of the Muslim community of eastern Switzerland and Liechtenstein, told German-language radio on Monday that the town’s Islamic association had taken the decision of the Swiss people into account.
The association would not pursue the matter in the courts, he said.
The announcement of the project in 2006 had sparked a flurry of protest in the area.
However, the situation in Langenthal in canton Bern is less clear. Muslims had been given planning permission for a minaret, but an appeal against it by opponents is still pending.
The minaret opponents say Sunday’s vote puts an end to the proceedings, and Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf has also said that the minaret cannot now be built.
However, a lawyer for the Muslim community said they were ready to take their case to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary.
He said that under Bernese law, applications are to be judged according to the legislation in force when they were submitted – in this case three years ago.
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“Swiss voters were misled”
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Ismael Amin, the former president of Association of Islamic Organisations in Zurich, believes Swiss Muslims’ poor social standing meant they were unable to get across the real issues surrounding minarets and thus lost the battle for Swiss hearts and minds. According to final results, 57.5 per cent of voters and a majority of cantons backed…
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According to final results, 57.5 per cent of voters and a majority of cantons backed the initiative. Turnout was high, at around 53 per cent. The result comes as a major surprise and a slap in the face of the government. Opinion polls ahead of the vote had predicted the ban would be rejected by…
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Switzerland’s system of direct democracy enables any citizen or pressure group to demand a change in the constitution if they can collect 100,000 signatures within 18 months. In July 2008 the rightwing Swiss People’s Party handed in an initiative, “Against the Construction of Minarets”, to the government with 113,540 valid signatures. The text is just…
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swissinfo.ch sought a response to Ulrich Schlüer’s arguments from the Islamic community in Langenthal, where they are awaiting planning permission to build a new minaret on their mosque. We asked their spokesman, Mutalip Karaademi, why it was so important to introduce this symbol of Islam. (Julie Hunt, swissinfo.ch 06.10.2009)
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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.