Completely unnecessary and even deemed extremely racist poster of the campaign banning Minarets in Switzerland. Photo of a Muslim woman in a Burka' with a Swiss flag and minarets in the shape of missiles.
The right-wing party claimed "Supporters of the proposed ban say minarets represent the growth of an alien ideology and legal system that have no place in the Swiss democracy."
Well, 'democracy' does not mean promoting stigma against any one religion or culture and breeding intolerance. Democracy does not mean cornering a minority and threatening to destroy their way of life.
"Alien ideology?" This alien ideology or simply put, Islam, has been around much longer than the modern people of Switzerland. "Banning minarets is as good as banning the cross on a Christian place of worship. They're just symbols", a friend of mine said.
I wonder how much of an economic bloom Switzerland expects from this. And who's the one being the 'extremists' in this case?
ENG: http://tinyurl.com/yl3coo7
DE: http://tinyurl.com/yf9nugu
FR: http://bit.ly/7dxhQo
Well, 'democracy' does not mean promoting stigma against any one religion or culture and breeding intolerance. Democracy does not mean cornering a minority and threatening to destroy their way of life.
"Alien ideology?" This alien ideology or simply put, Islam, has been around much longer than the modern people of Switzerland. "Banning minarets is as good as banning the cross on a Christian place of worship. They're just symbols", a friend of mine said.
"Posters have appeared in many Swiss cities showing a dark, almost menacing figure of a woman, shrouded from head to foot in a black burka. Behind her is the Swiss flag, shaped like a map of the country, with black minarets shooting up out of it like missiles.
The cities of Basel, Lausanne and Fribourg banned the billboards, saying they painted a "racist, disrespectful and dangerous image" of Islam. The United Nations Human Rights Committee called the posters discriminatory and said Switzerland would violate international law if it bans minarets.
Alan Fisher, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Switzerland, said that there was a political message behind Sunday's referendum.
"The reality is, as was described to me by a Swiss resident who is not a Swiss citizen, this is the right-wing Swiss People's Party sending out a message to Muslims: 'Know your place in Switzerland'," he said. "They believe, the right-wing People's Party, that if the Muslims get their mosques and their minarets it will follow on that they will want, perhaps, separate schooling and there could be a campaign to turn Switzerland, of all places, into a place that practices Sharia."
The Swiss government and business leaders have opposed a minaret ban, saying it would be harmful to the country's image abroad and disastrous for the Swiss economy."
-Al Jazeera English.
I wonder how much of an economic bloom Switzerland expects from this. And who's the one being the 'extremists' in this case?
ENG: http://tinyurl.com/yl3coo7
DE: http://tinyurl.com/yf9nugu
FR: http://bit.ly/7dxhQo
2 comments:
Maybe the US & other nations should follow Swiss style direct democracy?
The Swiss just voted to ban minarets on mosques and this is a great exercise of their unique form of direct democracy regardless of your views on the subject. But my question is why do the Swiss get to overrule their politicians and parliament and here in the US, we don’t have that right?
Let’s bring Swiss style direct democracy to the United States so Americans can vote on the Wall Street bailouts, government health care, whether to audit or abolish the FED, or require Congress declare war before we invade another country. Read why Switzerland is free and America is not and help restore citizen control over the US government and Congress currently under control of special interests. http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig/holland9.1.1.html
Agreed on your point of the American system. It is flawed and imperfect, as so many other nations. Up till today, nobody found a perfect model. People resort to pragmatism, anything they think would work best for their country.
Free voting doesn't always represent freedom. If the voting is not well represented among subcultures, I don't think 'free' is a term the minorities would feel as in this case. Almost like saying a particular country is 60% free, and 40% trapped.
Furthermore, voting includes heavy campaigns set by no other than parties themselves. Voting in ignorance and having thoughts implanted into them by a certain group, does not mean you're ideally 'freed' either. I'd like to think most people have the ability to think for themselves, but time and time again, you see it's not the case as many grow increasingly susceptible to propaganda.
Having said that, good luck on your country. :)
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