Swiss Islamic Shura Council condemns building monument marking minarets'' ban

By Tamer Aboalenin BERNE, Nov 13 (KUNA) -- The Swiss Islamic Shura Central Council condemned on Saturday the intention of the (Stop Minaret) Commission to build a monument commemorating the Prohibition of the construction of minarets in Switzerland.
The Monument should be in Langenthal, a small city in Central Switzerland.
The Media spokesman of the Council Qaasim Illi said to the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that "the announcement of such a move just one year after the Swiss voters approved a ban on building minarets is a clear provocation to the feelings of the Muslim minority in the country and a symbol of the marginalization and aggressiveness." He also noted that the idea "also bears the signature of an intolerant Triumphalism and harbors the danger that the general effort to mutual acceptance and understanding among religions could suffer another defeat".
At the same time he pointed out that the Swiss Islamic Shura Central Council is convinced that many of the Swiss as well as many countries of the world see that the ban on building minarets is a mistake, which need to be rectified.
The Commission's draft (Stop minarets) is pouring oil on the fire by the establishment of a monument to celebrate the Vote result and should be prevented by all available means, he said.
Some 57 percent of the Swiss had agreed last year in a referendum to ban minarets in the country after a proposal of the right-wing Swiss People's Party, supported by extremist right-wing.
The referendum was supported by a media campaign and has raised wide concerns among public opinion, which they call the (hidden Islamization of the Swiss society). Both, the Swiss Federal Council and the Parliament did no support the initiative.
At the same time the city of Langenthal, stronghold of the Commission (Stop minarets), has now a judicial dispute as the Islamic Society in the city continues to build a mosque with a minaret according to the approval of the authorities before the ban of minarte, but the (Stopp minarte) commission is against the project even after the authorities had granted a license before the referendum.
Switzerland home to some 400 thousand Muslim who are descended mostly from Balkans and Turkey, and representing the second largest religion in the country after Christianity (Protestant and Catholic). The authorities said that they are well integrated.
There is only 4 minarets in Switzerland in Geneva, Zurich, Winterthur north east of the country and the fourth in Wangen central Switzerland.
The Islamic Shura Council was created directly after the announcement of the ban on building minarets and it was organised by intellectuals Swiss converts to Islam and supported by a large number of young Muslims of second and third generations. (end).
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