Sultan Al-Qalam ::

Urgent Member Alert: Swiss Move To Ban Minarets On Mosques

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/specials/minaret_debate/index.html?siteSect=23250

Huzur Aqdas (atba) has instructed that Sultanul Qalam should take up this issue by writing to newspapers and the wider media condemning the possible banning of minarets.

On Nov. 29, the Swiss will vote on a referendum to ban the construction of minarets, initiated by the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP), who argue that a minaret is a symbol of Islamic intolerance. 

The "stop minaret" campaign was launched two years ago, prompting a national debate on the subject.  The Swiss People's Party gathered twice the required signatures needed to call a vote. Its campaign used posters depicting a woman in a burqa in front of a row of minarets shaped like missiles. Some cities, such as Basel, have banned the posters, while Zurich and others have allowed them in the name of free speech.

The SVP, the country's largest political group and a fierce critic of immigration, drew international criticism for a campaign poster two years ago showing a white sheep kicking a black sheep out of Switzerland.

Ulrich Schüler, an SVP parliamentarian and leading member of the anti-minaret movement, says the edifices are political rather than religious. "They are symbols of a desire for power, of an Islam which wants to establish a legal and social order fundamentally contrary to the liberties guaranteed in our constitution," he said.

The debate comes in a country that has prided itself on integrating its large immigrant population (20% are counted as foreigners) and that has largely avoided the clashes over the rights of Muslim minorities seen elsewhere in Europe.  About 5%, of Swiss residents are Muslim. Most are of Turkish or Balkan origin, with a small minority from the Arab world.

 Fifty-three percent of voters are against the ban and 34 percent are in favour of it, a national poll by the state-owned media organization SRG indicated.

Actions

Huzur Aqdas (aba) has instructed that Sultanul Qalam should take up this issue by writing to newspapers and the wider media condemning the possible banning of minarets.

 

Please choose one of the range of arguments below to write a concise letter to all national newspaper editors in the UK as well as the Swiss Media Organisation; Swiss Info: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/index.html

 

For the latest public debate on this topic in Switzerland, to contribute and write to the journalists/editors covering the story please check:

 

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/specials/minaret_debate/index.html?siteSect=23250

 

Members' letters should focus on the fact that the Minaret is a peaceful religious symbol, in much the way that spires are on churches and that if this legislation is passed it would represent a direct discrimination against Islam. 

 

To say that the minaret is a ‘political edifice that represents intolerance and a desire for power’ is absolutely wrong.

 

The main function of the minaret is to provide a vantage point from which the faithful are called to prayer.  The call to prayer from a Minaret can be likened to the ringing of bells from a church tower – both signifying a place and time where religious worship is about to take place.  In many European countries where there are restrictions on the call to prayer being played through a loudspeaker from the minaret, the minaret is a key architectural feature to signify the building as a Mosque.

 

It seems that the Swiss People’s Party want to scare their population into believing that all Muslims share the values and beliefs of the minority extremist and terrorist militants who misrepresent Islam through their heinous crimes and twisted ideology.  This is as illogical as it is to suggest that all British people sharing the values of the British National Party and all American citizens share the same values as the Klu Klux Klan.

 

As with all societies, in some Muslim countries & communities there is an illiterate or largely uneducated portion who can be led astray by right wing views in times of tension and hardship.  The key to resolving this on all sides is to increase our tolerance & understanding of each other, strengthen our multi-faith & multi-cultural ties and work towards greater peace & harmony.  Both sides have to avoid pandering to the fear-mongering efforts of the right wing to further destabilise the situation.

 

Muslims believe that Islam means Peace and instructs them (both in the Quran and the sayings of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) to live by the laws of the country they live in.  The West provides a safe haven for many Muslims who are free to practice their faith, live their personal lives according to Islamic teachings, build and worship in Mosques.  Therefore they do not need or want to establish a 'legal and social order' and impose this on the very civilisation that has provided them with all these freedoms.