By the time they voted, they were well aware of the stakes in the issue. If they voted to approve the minaret ban, they would certify themselves as “racists” and “xenophobes”. They would show that hate and intolerance had won. They would be identified as worthy heirs of the Third Reich.Yet, despite all of that, despite the pariah status that awaited them, the Swiss people voted overwhelmingly to approve the minaret ban.
So what happens next? What can the “world community” do to teach Switzerland a lesson?
If it were a member of the European Union, the solution would be easy. The example of Austria a few years back shows how the EU handles a member state whose internal politics violate the sensibilities of the bien-pensants in Brussels.
But Switzerland is a tougher nut to crack. Will the OIC call on its member states to boycott cuckoo clocks and watches? Will the jet set give up their skiing holidays in Switzerland? Will the rich and powerful close their numbered Swiss bank accounts and put their money elsewhere?
In any case, the Swiss people have made their opinion clear. According to AFP:
Switzerland votes to ban minarets- - - - - - - - -
GENEVA — Switzerland on Sunday voted to impose a blanket ban on the building of minarets across the country, backing an initiative by far-right politicians.
A clear majority of 57.5 percent of the population and 22 out of 26 cantons voted to ban the towers or turrets attached on mosques from where Muslims are called to prayer.
Far-right politicians celebrated the results, while the government sought to assure the Muslim minority that a ban on minarets was “not a rejection of the Muslim community, religion or culture.”
The Swiss People’s Party (SVP) — Switzerland’s biggest party — had forced a referendum under Swiss regulations on the issue after collecting 100,000 signatures within 18 months from eligible voters.
Having won a double majority — both in terms of cantons and absolute numbers, the initiative will now be inscribed in the country’s constitution.
“The Federal Council (government) respects this decision. Consequently the construction of new minarets in Switzerland is no longer permitted,” said the government, which had firmly opposed the ban, in a statement.
Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said the result “reflects fears among the population of Islamic fundamentalist tendencies.”
“These concerns have to be taken seriously… However, the Federal Council takes the view that a ban on the construction of new minarets is not a feasible means of countering extremist tendencies,” she stressed.
She also sought to reassure the Muslim population, saying: “Today’s popular decision is only directed against the construction of new minarets.
“It is not a rejection of the Muslim community, religion or culture. Of that, the Federal Council gives its assurance.”
But the Muslim community, which makes up 400,000 out of 7.5 million people in Switzerland, was dismayed.
“The most painful for us is not the minaret ban, but the symbol sent by this vote. Muslims do not feel accepted as a religious community,” said Farhad Afshar, who heads the Coordination of Islamic Organisations in Switzerland.
The Christian community also expressed dismay, saying it was “inadmissible that the religious minority now have to subject to unequal treatment.”
For Amnesty International, the minaret ban is a “violation of religious freedom, incompatible with the conventions signed by Switzerland.”
“The initiators (of the referendum) have unfortunately managed to exploit fears towards Islam and stirred up xenophobic sentiments, it’s regrettable,” said Daniel Bolomey, who heads the Swiss chapter of the rights group.
Meanwhile, SVP Vice-President Yvan Perrin cheered the fact that his party had won the vote “without difficulty.”
He told Radio Suisse Romande that Swiss companies should not worry about suffering from a possible backlash from Muslim countries.
“If our companies continue to make good quality products, they have nothing to worry about,” he said.
Noting that the Swiss had made their decision after fervent debate on the issue, he said: “We won respectably.”
Hat tip: TB.
39 comments:
The best news of the decade.
It shows two things:
1) Real democracy in Europe is now possible only outside EU and
2) It's absolutely clear why the word "referendum" has become EU's no. 1 nightmare.
More power to the Swiss people!
Indeed Armance, this is excellent news. At last the seemingly remorseless march of Islam in Europe seems to have been checked by this symbolic action, but as the Baron indicates, had Switzerland given up its independence and joined the EU, the Eurocrats would never have allowed this to happen.
Direct democracy in other European nations would, I am sure, yield similar results. This approach is the only way to circumvent our self-interested, particularist elites, who quite happily sell out their peoples for Saudi petrodollars. The question is, how do we obtain it? In the UK, the BNP is advocating the adoption of the Swiss model, so I know who I'll be casting my vote for at next year's General Election.
Direct democracy in other European nations would, I am sure, yield similar results.
Sure. That's why not only the EU, but all the transnational organizations should be disbanded. EU, UN, NATO, WTO, OIC, IPPC, G20, The Labour Party, George Soros. Move over, tyrannts. Let the will of the people prevail. Switzerland is the new ancient Athens.
Direct democracy in other European nations would, I am sure, yield similar results.
Bears repeating. British referendum on Lisbon?
I think more direct democracy would make our Dear Leaders tremble.
George Soros?
At least he's unique in the above set by having a limited supply of money.
The native European people are overhwelmingly jubilant! Check out the comments at the UK Times of London: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6936802.ece#comment-have-your-say
They are overwhelmingly in favor of the ban. What a great day, I am so happy. Go Swissies!
“The most painful for us is not the minaret ban, but the symbol sent by this vote...."
This is because the minaret is a symbol of islamic supremacy, and as we all know, there is power in symbols.
Particularly where islam is concerned.
“The most painful for us is not the minaret ban, but the symbol sent by this vote. Muslims do not feel accepted as a religious community,”
Yup. Life is a bitch when a ray of truth manages to break through. While this news makes me happy, how pathetic is it that such a small victory (something that not too long ago wouldnt have even been worthy of news ink) is a reason to rejoice?
Outstanding. Good move to ban the minaret, it is the upthrust visible symbol of muslim domination. It's the head-scarf of architecture. Now to carpet ban the call to prayer as noise pollution, they can always listen to on their ipod.
The most painful for us is not the minaret ban, but the symbol sent by this vote. Muslims do not feel accepted as a religious community.
For good reason!
God bless the Swiss people! If French were not such a pain in the you-know-where to learn I would move to Geneva right now.
It's great news, and shows that not all the West is ready for Death just yet.
May the fightback start here!
Hopefully this will lead to out-migration of Muslims from Switzerland. Ideally other countries will take similar measures and Muslim numbers in the West can be reduced peacefully to manageable numbers, avoiding both civil war* and Islamic takeover.
*This also requires that the dominant Left dialectic of cultural Marxism can be voted out of power too; a challenging task when so many 'conservative' parties are infected. The US in particular is in a very poor way politically, with Republicans and Democrats both officially in thrall and no significant non-cM party. I guess this is not surprising since postwar cultural Marxism was developed specifically to target the US.
Other countries could ban halal slaughter. That would force some others to move out. Enforce the laws on it, and on polygomy.
"'The most painful for us is not the minaret ban, but the symbol sent by this vote. Muslims do not feel accepted as a religious community,said Farhad Afshar..."
Others have commented about this above, but I have an additional thought. I cannot know, of course, but I doubt seriously many Swiss voted for the minaret ban to send a "symbol" of religious intolerance. It was, I suspect, however, a clear message of intolerance for the totalitarian imperialist political message those ugly phallic towers broadcast so clearly wherever they appear in the world.
The Islamic spokesman, as well as the "liberal" politicos, quoted, however did not pass up the opportunity to malign the Swiss voters' intentions and attribute them to relgious discrimination.
This is a small step in the right directon the way forward is to close all the command and control centres of political islam in europe.
I think we have come to a point in Western civilization where we can effectively do away with "representatives." To me it's an archaic practice to vote for someone to represent me when I can do it just fine by myself.
Moreover, "representatives" have shown time and time again to be active opponents of not only the spirit of the Constitution, but of the very idea of being a servant of the public.
I would like to see an abolition of the whole concept of voting for a different group of foxes to guard my hen house.
This is the kind of thing that i hate when happens. And worse it's frequently showed as a victory to our side. It's like when the french proibits the veils or religious symbols at schools and work. When someone blind another and then it's blinded by the family of the offended two get blind...
Simply expelling these people would do less harm and make our lives (and theirs) better, doing it this way we will both get a nightmare.
Rocha, expelling all Muslims is less likely than banning minarets and gets almost the same message across: Islam is not welcome. This first step makes subsequent steps more tenable.
Baby steps is the only way political solution is possible. And only way political solution is possible is through referendum.
All this while I have been buying and using Japanese watches.Now as a result of the Swiss people saying NO to minarets I am going to buy and proudly wear watches made in Switzerland. Well the done the brave Swiss people.
The Times article says: "Amnesty International said that the vote would probably be overturned by the Swiss supreme court or the European Court of Human Rights." Another monkey court.
Tariq Ramadan comments in the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/nov/29/swiss-vote-ban-minarets-fear
He realizes that the outcome is a result of the connection between Islam and "violence, extremism, freedom of speech, gender discrimination, forced marriage, to name a few" and deplores the fact that Europeans do not simply accept those phenomena as a fact. He simply describes Europeans as "unaccustomed" to these these new Islamic trends and urges Muslims and politicians to "stand up to the flame-fanning populists". Fight for your right to be a violent bigot, seems to be his message.
What about the very real flames from Islamic terror? Who should stand up to those, Mr. Ramadan?
The Swiss just did, and I applaud them.
Pretty stupid law.
Orlando,
Do not forget that this is a cultural war. They (the left) will retaliate and the demographic bomb is closer to explode each passing second. If you cannot expell them then make a stand in immigration, with europe turning into eurabia it's time to the swiss to ban ALL immigration.
The ECHR is another branch of the World Government. Take heed.
Slightly off topic -
I came across this the other day: Historical pseudomorphosis, "Where an older alien culture lies so massively over the land that a young culture, born in the land, cannot get its breath and fails not only to achieve its own expression forms but even to develop fully its own self consciousness. All that wells up from the depths of the young soul is cast in old moulds... and instead of rearing itself up in its own creative power it can only hate the distant power with *a hate that grows to be monstrous*. This is the case of the Arabian culture."
The argument is that the Arabian culture was suffocated by the Classical/Roman.
At the battle of Actium Anthony lost the land he represented (Arabia) and fell under the spell of Rome - "...the issue lay between Principate and Caliphate... A comparable event in the history of the West is the battle of Tours AD732. Had the Arabs won and made 'Frankistan' into a Caliphate... the Gothic feeling would have been forced to find expression in the long stiffened forms of Mosque and Arabesque..."
thll, that's a very interesting concept. Have you got a link to where I can read more? Or alternatively any books on the subject?
I applaud the Swiss voters for their stand.
But comparing this vote to the Austrians who put a repellent pseudo-Nazi toad like Jorg Haider into office a few years back? Haider was a thoroughly repellent character - other than his statements praising Hitler's "employment policy" he also supported Saddam Hussein.
Sometimes there are exceptions to the rule, Baron.
'The Christian community also expressed dismay, saying it was “inadmissible that the religious minority now have to subject to unequal treatment.”'
Why should it be admissable that the non-religious majority is faced with minarets wherever they go? It's just a minaret-ban, not a mosque-ban, for crying out loud. In Egypt, one of the fundamentalist bodies referred to the vote as a "blow for religious freedom". Since when do islamic countries adhere to the idea of religious freedom? Ask the copts in Egypt.
Turkish PM Erdogan clearly stated that 'minarets are the islam's bajonets'; a pretty clear statement I'd say. The responses from the islamic world, that faces no reduction in 'religious' freedom whatsoever, but only architechtonic ones, speak volumes to confirm that very statement.
The Dutch Inner Minister, alcoholic Guusje ter Horst, thinks the vote is 'sad' and stated openly that she is very "glad that we do not have binding referendums". "The Swiss people confuses religion for violence and other expressions of agression". Religion? Violence? Makes you wonder what stone she hid under for the past decade. Oh wait, she probably was drunk most of the time.
The thought of real direct democracy really is a scary one, isn't it?
I'm always dismayed by the Christian response: a Satanic religion, led by a false prophet, must be treated with respect?
I don't think so. Islam should be ridiculed and exposed for what it is at every opportunity.
What are these impotent bible thumpers on? There is no place in Christian theology for a false prophet. Haven't they read their own holy book?
They ought to try standing up for their own religion for a change, instead of a false and harmful ideology, invented by a paedophile, rapist, and a murderer.
Who is "the christian community" in this case though? Christians run the gamut of political opinion so I'd suspect the people named as "the christian community" are really just a bunch of lefty trendies who've set themselves up as the voice of christians without actually representing the majority, or even a plurality.
Speaking as a christian, I applaud the Swiss vote. Christians need to wake up just as much as anyone else to the fact that Islam isn't Just Another Faith. It's deadly to ours.
Graham Dawson (Archonix) - Spengler, Decline of the West, Ch vii/viii/ix: Problems of the Arabian culture; Historical Pseudomorphoses; The Magian soul; Pythagoras, Mohammed, Cromwell.
This is the watershed. A paradigm shift occurred yesterday with the Swiss vote. A nation has said "stop" to Islam and declared its will: we do not want you here.
From now on the right of the people to say no to Islam, to reject Islam, will be an established truth, and on this basis the struggle will continue. The muted response of the multiculturalists is proof of this. They know they are powerless to attack a whole nation for excercising its will.
The importance of this event cannot be exaggerated.
"“The most painful for us is not the minaret ban, but the symbol sent by this vote. Muslims do not feel accepted as a religious community,”
Ah yes. Native Europeans are never to inflict pain (on Muslims who volunteered to come to Switzerland, no one drafted them), only accept the pain of watching the symbolic clenched fists of a foreign IDEOLOGY not religion raised across their bucolic countryside.
Minarets are an optional feature on mosques. Any other mere religion would not be so shameless as to build their place of worship as a monstrosity that dwarfs native religious edifices. But that's the entire point of Muslim mosque building (witness the massive mosque planned to pollute Londonistan's historic center). It is meant to inflict pain and fear on the natives.
The Swiss vote should have been even higher to give the clear message "You are not wanted here in exactly the same way that you exclude all non-Muslims from your lands. YOU are the exclusionists. We only follow your lead. As you demonstrate in every one of your 57 states, only one faith rules. The others are to be squeezed out. We agree with your approach. Hypocrites are not wanted here. Don't let the door hit you on the way out."
Rocha, I disagree strongly. It is ideology that is the problem, not people. Most Muslims really need to be liberated from Islam.
But we need to send some people back, namely the individuals who propagate Islam. We don't want them here, we don't need them, they create only trouble. Let them return to the deserts they belong in.
Muslims do not feel accepted as a religious community.
The Religion of Peace? I wonder why...
There is no place in Christian theology for a false prophet.
Exactly. It is stated clearly (Relevantion) that the False Prophet shall be cast into the fire. Where indeed he belongs, along with the Whore of Babylon (drunk on the blood of martyrs) and other unpleasent characters.
Only Allah punishes with fire, as Muhammad once said. And for those who want to be along, follow the example of Muhammad (quran 33:21).
Here's a post from Jihad Watch/Meeker
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Ref DDA's above link to the Jerusalem Post article, note the comment #170. This reflects standard Muslim doctrine, of course, but it may surprise many Europeans, and this sort of comment should be spread, so that people can clearly see the supremacism and dominance that's clear and unequivocal in Islam:...
170. occupied land
Now that Muslims are in significant numbers in Switzerland and Europe you cant deny our rights there. Allah says it is Muslim land and Europeans occupy it from us. We will build as we wish and the infidels will learn the beauty of Islam. The racist Europeans deny our rights as Muslims. Switzerland will be an Islamic state like the rest of Europe within 20 years, so stop fighting it. Accept it and submit so you wont be infidel. Allah hu akbar
Salim Sayeed
From Muslims fume over Swiss minaret ban in the Jerusalem Post
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It seems the muslims aren't worried a bit about it. They are positive they will be taking over Europe soon anyway. This isn't the only post like this in various online comments. One even says Europeans will be the ones forced to build the mosques for the muslims. Slavery, anyone?
It's good news that some people in Europe are standing up to the spread of horrible theocratic Sharia. Too bad, the govts. and press are still living in a PC fantasy world dragging the debate down to racial prejudice and other non sequiturs.
There's a new free online site that teaches the history of Islam from day one, including its rise, spread and core beliefs to help Westerners get a clue on why and how to fight the modern spread of this mental AIDS. Spend some time and arm your mind with the Historyscoper at http://go.to/islamhistory
This ban will have a strong impact on the international community, and perhaps even start a domino effect of minaret bans: Video
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