A controversial anti-minaret poster published by the rightwing Swiss People's Party has been banned in three more towns.
This content was published on
1 minute
The French-speaking towns of Neuchâtel, Nyon and Morges joined Basel, Fribourg, Lausanne and Yverdon in forbidding the poster, which shows a woman wrapped in a burka standing next to a Swiss flag that is dotted around with minarets.
Neuchâtel described the posters as “full of hate and disrespect”.
However, three other towns, Olten, Chur and Bellinzona, have decided to permit it. It has also been allowed in Zurich, Geneva, Lucerne, St Gallen, Winterthur and Biel.
A nationwide vote is to be held on November 29 on whether the building of minarets should be forbidden in Switzerland.
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
One sentence that splits opinion
This content was published on
Several planning permission applications in the German-speaking part of the country provided the catalyst for the vote, with local residents collecting signatures against the towers’ construction. The rightwing Swiss People’s Party and the ultra conservative Federal Democratic Union, fearing a creeping Islamicisation, coordinated the anti-minaret campaign and took it to the national level. A people’s…
This content was published on
Cities around Switzerland have reacted differently. While Lausanne, Montreux, Fribourg, Neuchâtel and Yverdon-les-Bains followed Basel in outlawing the posters in publicly owned spaces, Geneva, Zurich, Biel, Winterthur and Lucerne have rejected the ban on free-speech grounds. The main poster, which shows a woman in a burka and a Swiss flag with minarets springing out of…
This content was published on
Imam Sakib Halilovic tells swissinfo that the supporters of the initiative are playing with fire and the move could endanger cherished Swiss values, the image of the country and integration efforts. The initiative is supported by members of the rightwing Swiss People’s Party and a fringe ultra conservative group. It was handed in to the…
This content was published on
A burka-clad woman, rocket-like minarets shooting from a Swiss flag: A poster by the rightwing Swiss People’s Party ahead of a nationwide vote on whether to ban the construction of new minarets in Switzerland has been banned as racist by the city of Basel. Swiss go to the polls on November 29 to decide on…
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.