More Muslim responses to minaret ban vote

More Muslim responses to minaret ban vote

A roundup of responses. See also Minaret Vote: Muslim reactions


Austria


Austria’s Islamic community has bemoaned the Swiss minaret referendum result this weekend.


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Omar Al-Rawi, the Austrian Islamic Community’s integration consultant, said yesterday (Mon): "With this decision the Swiss failed to make a statement against social exclusion, discrimination and populism.


"Human rights are not separable, and religious freedom rights are a main part of these rights."


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There are three minarets in Austria: in Vienna, Bad Vöslau in Lower Austria and Telfs, Vorarlberg. The provinces of Carinthia and Vorarlberg have recently introduced laws which ensure no more minarets can be erected.


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Germany



A prominent Berlin Muslim community leader here Tuesday lambasted the latest referendum in Switzerland where voters approved a controversial ban on the construction of mosque minarets, Iranian national news agency (Irna) reported.


Talking at a news conference, the chairman of the Inter-Cultural Center for Dialog and Education(IZDB), Faical Salhi said the ban contradicted the Western world's claims of freedom of religion.


"Why do you want to take away my (religious) freedom in the name of freedom," he asked rhetorically.


Salhi warned that the controversial Swiss referendum would not lead to bringing Muslims and non-Muslims closer together in Europe.


"This (Swiss) action will throw the us back for decades," he said, alluding to the religious rapprochement process.


"This is not the Europe of 2010 but the Europe of the 1920s and 30s," the Muslim activist added.


Salhi expressed hope that Muslims in Europe would not one day experience same fate that Jews did during the Nazi era.


"We have to get away from this bogey man image of Muslims (in Europe)," he stressed.


Salhi voiced strong concern over mounting Islamophobia in Germany.


"The mood in the German Muslim community is filled with fear because Islamophobia has reached the middle of German society," he said.


"I am afraid for the safety of my wife and children. There are daily attacks against Muslims in Germany simply because one has a beard or is wearing a headscarf," Salhi added.


The Chairman of the Central Council of Muslims, Ayyub Axel Koehler warned earlier that Islamophobia had become a "major challenge" for Germany.


Islamophobia has to be placed on the "political agenda of parties, parliament and government," the Muslim leader said.


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Malta



The Swiss 'yes' vote in a referendum banning the construction of new minarets was a violation of international law and violated religious freedom, Imam Mohammad ElSadi, head of the Muslim community in Malta, said in a statement today.


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The Imam said the vote disappointed all those who held peace and tolerance at heart all over the world.


"This vote violates international law and breaches religious freedom and the right of every community to acquire its own proper places of worship according to their traditions.


"This vote is a racist and discriminatory, particularly against Muslims, because it does not include any restrictions on the places of worship of other religions. It provokes and offends the sentiments of 1300 million Muslims all over the world."


The Imam said such a vote would fuel Islamophobia in Europe and hatred and extremism on both sides.


It also created fear and a feeling of instability among Muslim communities in Europe and frustrated their attempts to integrate in European societies.


"Really, it is a threat to peaceful relations among the followers of different faiths."


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"What do minarets have to do with fundamentalism? Is fundamentalism in the minds or in the stones?


"What will be the reaction of those who supported the vote if we - Muslims - carry such referenda in our countries regarding the churches?"


The Imam said he was sure that those who were behind this vote are not true Christians but racists. Those who really loved Christianity respect all religions.


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Switzerland



As the dust settles following Sunday’s vote by the Swiss public to ban the construction of minarets, Lucas Chambers visits a mosque in Lausanne to find out how Switzerland’s muslim community are responding to the ban, and hears about an alarming letter sent to the mosque in the vote’s wake.


Audio report



Bosnia


Bosnian Muslim spiritual leader Reiss-ul-Ulema Mustafa Ceric has criticised European policies towards Muslims, claiming they are treated as second-class citizens. His comments came days after voters in Switzerland opposed the building of minarets in a controversial referendum.


The Swiss minaret ban and the European Union's exclusion of Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina from a recent visa waiver were two poor messages for European Muslims, Ceric said ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.


“Unfortunately, the message from Brussels that we are less worthy than our neighbours Serbs, Montenegrins, Macedonians and Croats, and the one from Switzerland that our cultural and religious symbols are unwelcome, are discouraging,” Ceric said.


The EU this week abolished visas to the three Balkan countries of Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro but said Muslim-majority Albania and Bosnia had failed to qualify for the waiver.


Ceric said the minaret ban was important for Bosnian Muslims.


"But it is more important to secure the right to life in Europe and to be freed of fear for the future of their children,” he stated.


“Obviously, Europe is not only in economic, but in a moral crisis as well,” Ceric said.


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