Bern: Muslims plan anti-Kadhafi protest (UPDATED)

Bern: Muslims plan anti-Kadhafi protest

Update: About 50 Muslims showed up.


A group of Swiss Muslims will demonstrate Saturday in Bern in response to the call for Jihad by the Libyan head of state, following the minaret vote.

The organizers wanted to show their disagreement with Mouammar Kadhafi's politics.

"The call to Jihad is simply shocking. We can not accept it and we refuse to be exploited." Of Moroccan origin, Abdel Lamhangar has lived in Switzerland for more than 20 years. He's a socialist municipal councilor in Romont, and is behind the planned protest. "As a Muslims, we had to respond against this manipulation," he says.

Under the banner "Don't touch my country," these Muslims of Switzerland want to show they've had enough of the Libyan provocations. They reject any calls for Jihad or boycotting of Swiss products. They say that the minaret vote is a Swiss problem which should be resolved through democratic means. The Libyan threats are unacceptable.

The protest on Saturday will also show that many Muslims living in Switzerland do not share the Libyan vision and feel solidarity with their host country and the hostage Max Göldi. "We live here, with our fellow citizens, perhaps of different manners, but always equal," says Abdel Lamhangar, who hopes to get 500 demonstrators.

Spokesperson for the Islamic Central Council, Quaasim Illi, welcomed the fact that Muslims living in Switzerland are organizing and showing their difference with Libya. The protests runs the risk, however, of harming Max Göldi. It could irritate Khadafi and weaken the situation of the Swiss prisoners, he explained.

The Bern policy said the demonstrators won't be allowed to demonstrate outside the Libyan embassy. The prohibition would be the same for any other embassy, for example the Austrian, said Jean-Claude Hess of the Bern police.

Source: 20min (French)

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