Published on Nov 23 2009 by Abdul Ghany Jahangeer Khan, Tilford, Surrey

Minarets are architectural structures that help indicate that the building is for Islamic prayer. The call for prayer is never sounded out from Ahmadiyya Muslim mosques in the West; the muezzin stays inside the mosque, so as not to disturb the neighbours. The minaret on the Ahmadiyya Muslim community's Mahmood Mosque in Zurich has been there since the 1960s. Most residents there say they are not bothered by it.

The ban on minarets reveals something much more disturbing: it is an irrational FEAR that somehow the "islamicisation" of Switzerland is happening at an alarming rate, and that mosques with scary minarets are suddenly going to spring up everywhere, threatening the local culture. The ban on minarets is not the way to make Muslims want to become culturally integrated with the Swiss host community. It will only increase their distrust and will alienate them even further. The Swiss government should allow minarets of a reasonable height to be built, and should loudly petition governments of Islamic countries to allow churches and all other religious structures to be built on their soil.

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) signed a document for Christians of all lands and of all times to come that he and his followers would not harm any churches, cloisters or monasteries, and would even protect them from attack and help to repair them whenever needed. He also invited Christians to pray in his mosque.