(AP) Alexander G. Higgins - Swiss voters Sunday approved a constitutional amendment to ban the construction of minarets, projections by the respected gfs.bern polling institute showed. The nationalist Swiss People's Party, the country's largest party in terms of popular support and membership in parliament, describes minarets as symbols of rising Muslim political and religious power that could eventually turn Switzerland into an Islamic nation. Muslims make up about 6% of Switzerland's 7.5 million people. Many Swiss Muslims are refugees from the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. Fewer than 13% practice their religion, the government says, and Swiss mosques do not broadcast the call to prayer outside their buildings. The Cabinet that heads the Swiss government has spoken out strongly against the initiative, and rights defenders objected to campaign posters showing minarets rising like missiles from the Swiss flag next to a fully veiled woman.
2009-11-30 09:19:56Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive