Switzerland's new law re: Islam

[David Nurenberg]

Of interest, given our recent unit: the Swiss government just passed a
very controversial law saying that Swiss Muslims cannot build
Minarets, the pointed towers that are a part of mosque design
worldwide. Switzerland, like all Western countries, has freedom of
speech and freedom of religion, so this law would *seem* to violate
that...but the Swiss government is arguing that Minarets inherently
represent a "dangerous" aspect of religion.

Here are some articles from all around the world that discuss the
issue. You can get extra credit for posting a reply.

From the New York times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/30/world/europe/30swiss.html?_r=1&scp=6&sq=swiss%20minaret&st=cse

From FOX News:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,577668,00.html

From Al Jazeera (Arab Network)
http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/12/200912281637353840.html

From Switzerland's own news
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/internal_affairs/World_s_press_dissect_Swiss_minaret_ban.html?siteSect=1511&sid=11560694&ty=st


- Mr. N.

[Mark Nimar]

I think the law is appalling, and completely hypocritical considering
not only Swiss's values of "liberte, egalite and fraternite," but the
last century of war and Switzerland's huge business ventures with the
mid-east. I completely agree with the opinions in the articles, but
find the Swiss one rather depressing: all it talks about is self
image, and how Switzerland will suffer due to the vote. How about
Switzerland's millions of Muslims? They must feel inferior in their
own country, which I believe is a crime in itself. This law is
symbolic rather than enforcing, as the 4 minarets in the country
demonstrates, and is a pressing issue considering the "forest fire"
effect it may have on the rest of Europe's parliaments. However, I
like Al Jazeera's assessment most: this is a country anxious about the
economic future and the coming war, and they are looking for someone
to blame. I know this comment is irrelevant, but think about this:
Switzerland may be one of America's biggest enemies. The Al Qaeda
network is funded by people in Saudi Arabia, who store their money in
countries like Switzerland. Since Switzerland refuses to hand over the
names of owners to the American Government, Al Qaeda can safely keep
their money there for buying weapons and planning attacks. Americans
should consider this fact when they think of Switzelrand again in
relation to America and the Muslim World.

On Dec 2, 8:27 pm, David Nurenberg <misternurenb...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Of interest, given our recent unit: the Swiss government just passed a
> very controversial law saying that Swiss Muslims cannot build
> Minarets, the pointed towers that are a part of mosque design
> worldwide.  Switzerland, like all Western countries, has freedom of
> speech and freedom of religion, so this law would *seem* to violate
> that...but the Swiss government is arguing that Minarets inherently
> represent a "dangerous" aspect of religion.
>
> Here are some articles from all around the world that discuss the
> issue.  You can get extra credit for posting a reply.
>

> From the New York times:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/30/world/europe/30swiss.html?_r=1&scp=...

>
> From FOX News:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,577668,00.html
>

> From Al Jazeera (Arab Network)http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/12/200912281637353840.html
>
> From Switzerland's own newshttp://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/internal_affairs/World_s_press_d...
>
> - Mr. N.