Switzerland

My compatriots’ vote to ban minarets is fuelled by fear

by Paul Woodward 12.01.2009

My compatriots’ vote to ban minarets is fuelled by fear By Tariq Ramadan, The Guardian, November 29, 2009 It wasn’t meant to go this way. For months we had been told that the efforts to ban the construction of minarets in Switzerland were doomed. The last surveys suggested around 34% of the Swiss population would [...]

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The European minaret-missile threat

by Paul Woodward 11.29.2009

The European minaret-missile threat By Paul Woodward, War in Context, November 29, 2009 Bigotry is on the rise in “the westerly excrescence of the continent of Asia.” That unpoetic but topographically-precise description of Europe comes from the Oxford archeologist, Barry Cunliffe. Whenever voices declaring that European culture is under threat are at their most strident, [...]

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Switzerland to vote on Islamophobic plan to ban minarets

by Paul Woodward 11.27.2009

Switzerland to vote on plan to ban minarets By Imogen Foulkes, BBC News, November 27, 2009 On Sunday Swiss voters will have their say on a controversial proposal to impose a constitutional ban on the building of minarets. The proposal is backed by conservative Christian groups and by the biggest party in Switzerland’s parliament, the [...]

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