• 07/06/2022
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Swiss want to ban minarets in referendum ·Global Voices<

At the entrance to Langgenthal, a haven of calm located in the Bernese countryside, the situation plan indicates the eleven churches or temples of this town of 14,000 inhabitants.Soon, a new religious building should be indicated.A mosque must be built.An architectural question remains hanging: will she have a minaret?An association opposes it and has filed an appeal against this part of the building, evoking neighborhood nuisances.

Ce qui ressemble à une simple querelle de clocher, version XXI^e siècle, est devenu un débat national. Les Suisses voteront, le 29 novembre, pour décider si doit être ajoutée à l'article 72 de la Constitution fédérale, qui garantit la paix religieuse dans le pays, une phrase ainsi libellée : "La construction de minarets est interdite." L'initiative populaire, lancée le 1^er mai 2007, a récolté les 100 000 signatures requises et a franchi toutes les étapes juridiques. A la population donc de trancher.

One of the instigators of the vote, Ulrich Schlüer, deputy for the Democratic Union of the Center (UDC), the great populist party, justifies the prohibition: "The minaret is not a religious but political construction, assures the elected official.It is the symbol of a desire for power, of an Islam which wants to establish a legal and social order which is fundamentally contrary to the freedoms guaranteed in our Constitution. "The former history teacher warns that tomorrow will escape Swiss minarets the calls for prayer of the muezzins."In certain suburbs of Paris or certain districts of Berlin, a right different from ordinary law has been established and you can no longer against that," he continues. That, we don't want it in Switzerland. "Ulrich Schlüer evokes burqa, young girls prohibited from sporting activity."Sharia law goes against our law. We cannot accept a group that does not respect our principles," he insists.

The major parties, the religious authorities have spoken against the initiative, arguing in particular of the freedom of worship and the negative image given in the Arab countries.Even the UDC, which loves nothing as long as these calls for the people, is embarrassed by this popular initiative, although fourteen of the sixteen people originally come from its ranks.A spokesman says that the training has still not decided whether or not to approve the text, postponing the internal debate in October."There is no doubt that the UDC will clearly support us," says Ulrich Schlüer.

Despite the climate of institutional reprobation, the signatures, exactly 114,895, nevertheless flocked in one year, without the need for advertising.And too bad if Switzerland does not count today, in all and for everything, only four minarets ... The supports came from all the cantons.

The collection was accelerated by a controversy born in the village of Wangen, 4,600 inhabitants, in the canton of Soleure.A mosque - with Minaret - was inaugurated in January.But the association of Muslims who manages it has been accused of proximity to a Turkish extremist organization, the gray wolves.What bring arguments to those who criticize the politico-religious amalgam.

"The Swiss people want an official debate on Islam and Islamism," concludes Ulrich Schlüer.Very difficult, however, in Langenthal or elsewhere, to find residents who agree to speak openly about the subject.No aggressive tags, posters go to-war, final remarks, as it would be seen at the French neighbor.Even Muslims prefer to elude the subject.They are 350,000 to 400,000 officially in the country, mainly Turks, Bosnians or Individually Integrated Albanians.

In the Balgrist district, on the outskirts of Zurich, the Mahmud mosque draws up its frail minaret about fifteen meters high, facing the tram stop.On the other side of the street, the church bell tower makes this height twice and sounds the six hours.The first mosque in Switzerland was built in 1963, then arousing a wave of protests."Since then, there has not been any problem, explains Ahmed Sadaqat, his imam for eight years. On Friday, the church even authorizes the faithful to park in his parking lot when they come for prayer."

The Muslim official considers the initiative on minarets "ridiculous"."They want to scare people with this story of political domination, he explains. For forty-six years that we have been here, we have never asked that a call for prayer be launched. They make amalgamsWith the Islamists, burqa, terrorism. However, Muslims must be admitted that Muslims are a fact of this society, that they live here and that they must accept this reality. "

In Geneva, Stéphane Lathion, president of the research group on Islam in Switzerland (Gray), leads the visitor to the city mosque, a discreet building whose minaret, dating from 1978, is crushed by the surrounding buildings,in the Grand-Saconnex district.The academic recalls that, in this Calvinist land, a similar controversy had opened when the Catholics had reinstalled: should it have authorized that their churches had a bell tower? "Wondered.

Regularly requested in the debate, on the French -speaking side, Stéphane Lathion denounces "fantasies" on Islam and tries to "play down the debate": "There has always been a xenophobic tradition in the country. It worsens when the economic situationDegrades itself. But today is an identity crisis. A question goes through society: what is Swiss?'Islam is then associated abroad and the temptation is great to put all Muslims in the influence of fundamentalist epiphenomena. "

As proof, Stéphane Lathion evokes the jumble between rejection of Islam, immigration, insecurity and the European Union, established by the defenders of the ban."A priori, the initiative has no chance of passing, he believes. But, in an emotional climate, everything becomes possible."

The researcher has fun with the ambiguity of his country, who votes for or against the minarets and, at the same time, paints the great Arab fortunes who come to spend their money.In Geneva, the organizers of the big annual celebration thus question the idea of shifting the dates in 2010 so that it does not coincide with Ramadan.In Zurich, the great palaces announced that they were going to adapt their menus and their schedules at the time of the Muslim fast in order to satisfy the passing emirs.The economic authorities have also argued that a vote against the minarets could divert the rich Arab clientele."In Switzerland, a distinction is made between the Burqa Chanel and the Burqa Darty," concludes Stéphane Lathion.

Benoît Hopquin

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