Swiss move to ban minarets stirs up huge controversy.
This content was published on
1 minute
Julie worked as a radio reporter for BBC and independent radio all over the UK before joining swissinfo.ch's predecessor, Swiss Radio International, as a producer. After attending film school, Julie worked as an independent filmmaker before coming to swissinfo.ch in 2001.
The Swiss voted in 2009 to ban the building of any new minarets. The campaign, launched by the rightwing People’s Party, stirred up huge controversy internationally. The Federal Commission against Racism claimed that it defamed Muslims and violated religious freedom. (archive 25/07/2007/Julie Hunt/SF/swissinfo.ch)
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
Strasbourg minaret ruling causes no surprise
This content was published on
The ruling by the court in Strasbourg has been met with no surprise, by either opponents or supporters of the Swiss law. In a popular vote November 2009 the Swiss approved an initiative to add to the constitution a ban on the construction of any new minarets. Of those who voted, 57 per cent were…
This content was published on
swissinfo.ch spoke to Amira Hafner-Al-Jabaji, a Swiss of Iraqi origin and one of those involved in the dialogue, about what had changed since November 29, 2009. Hafner-Al-Jabaji is president of the Interreligious Think-Tank which seeks to promote religious peace in the country and opposes fundamentalism. She told swissinfo.ch the controversial vote had merely highlighted an…
This content was published on
Twelve months after a nationwide vote in favour of banning the construction of minarets, the town’s mayor is rather unhappy about the continuing publicity while the business community appears to ignore the controversy. The row over the local minaret has not gone away. It had already received planning permission from the town before the vote…
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.