I have visited Switzerland before, and I loved the country and people too. I got the feeling that they have chosen the hardest option of being unbaised and respected them for such challenge. I hoped that the swiss people have had proven to the world how unbiased and coherent they are, and instead of voting against building minarets, they could have simply voted for having the most prominent swiss product "Clocks" fixed over each new minaret -check the picture-. It can be a beautiful architecture holding a practical instrument that can be of benefit for everyone without positiong it as a "Muslim Missile"!
Mesh Keda wala eih 3ala Ra2i Fouad El Mohandes.
Mohaly
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ReplyDeleteMohaly, I am so angry and ashamed of the Swiss vote, don't know what to say.
ReplyDeleteNoblese:
ReplyDeleteActually you are the most important person regarding this post, you are living there and you should tell us more about it. Big part of this blog's mission is this informal intercultural communication and understanding.
We are looking forward for your opinion.
This vote makes so angry. It is a sign of intolerance.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw the results last sunday, I felt again this kind of foreigner hate/rancour in Switzerland. After people from Ex-Yougoslavia, Germans (in the German-speaking Switzerland) and Frenchs (in the French-speaking part), now Muslims. As a foreigner living in Switzerland, I ask myself when it will be my turn. It's not the Switzerland I knew and I like, it's just scary.
I think people mixed a lot during this vote. It was not only for or against building minarets. Topics like the "Gaddafi affair", fears of a militant Islamic fundamentalism, even female circumcision played a role in the decision.
This vote was based on suspicions: cantons with the lowest proportion of Muslims voted massively against the minaret. Believing that a ban of building minarets could curtail fundamentalism is not serious at all.
In my opinion, the reputation of Switzerland as a liberal country and the credibility of its human rights policy will suffer.
Thanks alna for your post.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened in Switzerland is a sad thing. The whole idea of the vote itself is wrong and I don't understand it. Why to have this vote in the first place?
(There's a facebook group condemning this vote)
In my opinion it shouldn't have come so far with banning building minarets. All new constructions are subject to approvals from municipalities before they are allowed to be built. And a minaret is within the same context. There are about 150 mosques or prayer rooms in which to worship and four of them have minarets.
The rights of the Muslim population are given to practice their religion freely
as the rest of the other population.
It is not about the minarets but the foreigners. The whole thing started when the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) came to power in 2007. At that time they used another controversial poster showing white
sheep kicking black sheep off the country’s flag. This was no reference to black sheep as rebels but to skin color and foreigners.
People perceived the rising of extremism as well as oriental traditions in the world as a danger to the country's peaceful living and integration. There were cases of women
circumcision, forced marriages, the wish for non-swiss rulings ... etc. and the SVP
played with the people's fears. The SVP is gaining in power and I don't know what would come next.
Did they state that?
ReplyDeleteRising of 'extremism' in the world would affect their peaceful living?
The formal statement was rather against the notion that minarets symbolize Islamic 'power' and 'law enforcement', nothing about peaceful living here. Are the public that naive to mistake bigotry to peace inducement? (I think that's why percentages were rather flat).
In fact, I don't think such a prominent provocation (because that's what it is now, isn't it?), would lead to any form of peace or understanding.
Anyways, I liked how it all started by some residents, whatever their motives where. I liked how it climbed up until it became a popular initiative, where a fair vote took place.
What I don't like is .. I can't pick the word .. the 'shallowness' of people, and I'm saying this not because they're only 4 minarets, but because they're just minarets.
This reminds me of Muslims here in Egypt who keeps nagging about churches being built.
The world is freaking stupid.
It's one of those times when I believe in the saying: "People matter, not governments".
And I hate news! Every time I decide to give it a shot, I become more convinced. Makes your head spin, no specific ends to reach, and no solution to nothing, it's like hiding the emotional world behind a gauze of formality.
Maybe it's just me.
اعتقد أن المتابع للأمور يستطيع الربط بسهولة بين تصاعد مشاعر العداء للإسلام مع تصعيد التيارات اليمينية التي يتفق أغلبها في دول أوروبا على الخوف من المد الإسلامي سواء بالهجرة أو بتزايد عدد المتحولين إلى الإسلام أو ارتفاع معدلات الانجاب بين الجاليات الإسلامية، مما حدا بقيادات هولندية يمينية على سبيل المثال إلى إثارة مشاعر الخوف والقلق من انقلاب التركيبة الديموجرافية للدولة بأكلمها ليصبح المسلمون بها أغلبية في البلاد بعد عدة عقود، لذا تعتزم الدولة (ومعها باقي دول أوربا) اتخاذ إجراءات مشددة حيال تزايد أعداد المهاجرين إليها وخصوصاً من الدول الإسلامية، كما لا يمكننا تجاهل مقولة الرئيس الفرنسي ساركوزي بشأن محاولات تركيا المحمومة للانضمام إلى الاتحاد الأوربي بقوله: إن الاتحاد الأوروبي اتحاد مسيحي ولابد أن يبقى كذلك
ReplyDeleteNoblese,
ReplyDeleteas you are living there, guess you are the best person to advise on how to approach this subject now.
i dotn feel comfortable with the strategy of boycutting everyone who says or does soemthing against Islam. maho we cant boycut the whole world.
i'd go for talking to those who attack me, explain and discuss what they "hear"about me and give the correct info, rather than stone them for not knowing me.
we start defending ourselves and religion when are attacked, but we dont keep a continious front to explain and introduce Islam to the western world.
and we have already made jerks of ourselvers with that damn story of the football game.
tab3an anyone would be right if they dont respect us.
we give bad publicity about ourselves, react in an impulsive and unpredictable way-from their point of view towards a subject that doesnt have the importance in their lives it has for us.
my german teacher kept saying that we share the responsibility of givng bad image about islam with those who attack it, by being passiv and by that stupid stormy reaction we show.
the increasing number of europeans and americans converting to islam and their strong holding to their new religion is an indication that if understood and presented correctly, Islam is not as they think.only not everyone get to hear the info.
guess its time to start moving as individuals to support organizations working in this field, regardless of what governments take for actions. individual approach will have better and stronger impact on ppl, which will force their governments to follow, and not vice versa.
Hi H.A.W.
ReplyDeleteI like your post.
In my opinion the best way to approach this subject is the open dialogue and tolerance.
A political commentator reported that the proposal for a minaret ban was treated too hastily by the authorities, who have to take part of the blame for the result of a nationwide. Now that the vote is over it would be good if there is a fair debate about immigration and integration.
Another politician talked about a lesson learnt and that referendums should be validated first before they go out for votings. I also share this opinion.
A group of intellectuals and others are thinking of a referendum against this referendum; i.e. instead of banning minarets there should be a more tolerant attitude towards other religions.
Let's just wait and see.
thx noblese
ReplyDeleteyes, tolerance of their opinion, because they dont know what its all about.
ppl here started talking now about boycutting switzerland.
in today's "el dostor" one of swiss bankers said he doesnt expect arabs & moslems to withdraw their money from swiss banks. "there is a difference between what they say and what they do"
all i am saying is we cant punish them for not knowing what islam is, and we cant blame them for the way they see us, the bad picture comes from us at first place.
most europeans respect islam from what they got to see in our personal behaviour. they ask zillion questions, and respect answers which give a rational explanations- away from our love to the religion.
i see this is a start. again it should come from individual behaviour representing islam in the right way.
and sorry to say that governments wont move a finger.
the swiss president said it clearly: they wont apologize for the decision.
Mohaly, this was not aganist minarets themselves but what the minarets represents from the swiss people's point of view who voted.
ReplyDeleteI see that as a typical way of how the propaganda for the far right-wing parties like (SVP) can feed people with fear and misguide them to a vote like this!
بوسينيي (سويسرا) (ا ف ب) - بنى مواطن سويسري غير مسلم "مئذنة" فوق مدخنة مبنى مؤسسته الواقعة في بوسينيي في ضاحية لوزان (شرق) احتجاجا على نتيجة الاستفتاء الذي جرى مؤخرا وحظر بناء المآذن في سويسرا.
ReplyDeleteوقال غيوم موران الذي يدير سلسلة متاجر لبيع الاحذية في سويسرا لوكالة فرانس برس "انها لفضيحة ان يكون السويسريون قد صوتوا لصالح الحظر. بسبب هذا تلقينا دعم جميع احزاب اليمين المتطرف. هذا عار".
Dear Author mohaly.blogspot.com !
ReplyDeleteI am assured, what is it was already discussed.