Swiss vote to ban building minarets

  • Thread starter TheyCallMeTheSeeker
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TheyCallMeTheSeeker

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Greetings friends.

I've joined this forum on the day that 57% of voters in Switzerland have supported a ban on building minarets (as reported on the BBC News website), though Swiss law does not seem to place restrictions on any other places of worship. As a non-Muslim I've been deeply saddened over the last few years at the increase in open expressions of Islamophobia and hostility towards individual Muslims; this must be one of the most frightening developments yet.
 
Not really.
How many more phallic style buildings do we need?
Very patriarchal.
We need more matriarchal types of buildings.
 
Thank you for this thread TheyCallMeTheSeeker .... it is shameful.

The UN Right Chief has spoken on the subject:

“Some of the politicians who proposed this motion argued that it wasn’t targeting Islam or Muslims,” she said. “Others claimed that banning minarets would improve integration. These are extraordinary claims when the symbol of one religion is targeted.”

How can it not be targeting Muslims if ONLY Muslims use minarets in their buildings of worship!!

Improve integration ..... this one always gets me mad. It's like banning curry and saying eating fish and chips will improve integration, when what they actually mean is "it will make you more like us".

There are only 4 mosques in Switzerland ..... very stupid, they are playing into the hands of fundamentalists.

Another stupid move by a far right party and unfortunately probably a self fulfilling prophecy ... Muslims are violent ... lets antagonise them and treat them unfairly .... oh look they have reacted violently .... see we told you they were violent.

It is sad to see that Islamaphobia is alive, well and ensuring far right parties gain ground in Europe ... I wonder how long before a new Hitler emerges?
 
I think it's all pretty terrible. Have you all seen the posters that were used to get the ban passed?

SwissMinaretBan.jpg


Awful.
 
I dunno, I'm American and can't read anything in a foriegn language. But if I were to guess it is the darkness of it, the plethora of minarettes (didn't MW say there were only four?) and burka and the way the flag and the minarettes combined subliminally indicate a field of blood and a swastika...but those are just the visuals. Now the writing Stopp Ja...reminds me of Jah...but again that is me.
 
17th said:
Whats awful about the poster?
Click to expand...

A field of minarets that resemble missiles overshadowing the Swiss flag and a sinister-looking woman in Muslim dress. It's worth noting there are about 150 mosques and Muslim prayer rooms, only 4 of them have minarets, only 2 new minarets are planned and none of them are used for conducting the call to prayer.
 
Wil: It basically says 'say yes to the minarett ban.' But lol yeah I see where you're coming from.

Dauer: sinsiter looking woman lol. Just looks like a typical muslim woman :/ Perhaps they naturally look... Sinister... *dum dum dum.... DUN ERR!!!!!!* lol..... The missile bit I think is looking at it too much :/ The imagery is meant to show the land being masked and covered by "eye sores".

Not as good I'll admit as the North Korean posters..... Or the 'V' posters!
 
17th,

The sinister look is in her eyes. I've seen enough Muslim women to know that they don't have that look in their eyes.
 
wil,

rephrase please? I'm not sure what you're asking.
 
The burka vs. the hajib, the smile vs the eyes...

If the lady in the advert was used on the poster it would lose some of its bite.
 
dauer said:
I think it's all pretty terrible. Have you all seen the posters that were used to get the ban passed?

SwissMinaretBan.jpg


Awful.
Click to expand...

go to say that, that imagery would not look out of place in a nazi memorabilia collection :eek:
 
wil said:
The burka vs. the hajib, the smile vs the eyes...

If the lady in the advert was used on the poster it would lose some of its bite.
Click to expand...
When I said that the burka was viscerally creepy in a way that the hijab is not, I was crucified for it.
 
wil said:
I dunno, I'm American and can't read anything in a foriegn language. But if I were to guess it is the darkness of it, the plethora of minarettes (didn't MW say there were only four?) and burka and the way the flag and the minarettes combined subliminally indicate a field of blood and a swastika...but those are just the visuals. Now the writing Stopp Ja...reminds me of Jah...but again that is me.
Click to expand...

Well, any anti poster is gonna be able to pack a punch, so looks like any poster [political] whether western or islamic; the plethora is what the fear is, that this predominantly christian 'neutral' country fears a future plethora of muslim architecture which attracts permanent muslims, rather than transient workers [look at wiki on switzerland, where there is a low house owner %]. Basically l think they are listening to the problems in France, Germany and the Netherlands [as well as apparently Turkey who have problems between secular/orthodox] concerning an influx of a foreign culture and how it will change theirs. One needs to look at the history of a country to see where they are coming from. They have copied the US model of government only a more direct democracy. I don't see this as any different to the situation in Saudi, where they limit where appropriate to conserve their culture?
 
The ban on minarets could be seen a number of ways (not all mutually reinforcing).

1) As a way of humiliating Muslims

2) The Swiss really saw "political Islam" as a threat and don't consider themselves part of a phenomenon of racism and hate-mongering. They are disturbed that "political Islam" was going unchallenged elsewhere in Europe, that "political Islam" was being protected by lobby groups/politicians concerned about political correctness and that it was protecting a group that was a real threat. Just like some think reactions to so-called "anti-Semitic comments" or "anti-Jewish comments" go too far, likewise also with anti-Islam or anti-Muslim comments.

3) "Moderate" Muslims should celebrate and rejoice that "political Islam" has been defeated and humbled.:D

4) Following on from #2, the Swiss general public may have felt threatened or offended by the audacity of extremist imams preaching about dress code, why Muslim "freedom-fighters" were justified in killing civilians in Western countries and why they, as Muslims, were more deserving of being inhabitants of Switzerland (and maybe the whole planet) than the Swiss general population. The rudeness and offensive nature of their preaching earned the Swiss general population their fear and hatred.

5) The Swiss have got it all wrong -- they are being racist and hate-mongering.

6) The move to ban minarets is similar to the slow, silent and gradual movement to get crosses, Christian symbols, Christian terminology and rhetoric and Christmas out of schools and other public places so as not to offend atheists or adherents of other religions.

7) The provocative preaching of some extremist imams is similar in nature and just as socially damaging as that of some Christian preachers and evangelists. The purpose of the polemics is just the same -- to divide, to scare, to incite, inflame and create caricatures.
 
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