'Tard of the Week - Swiss Voters

Monday, November 30, 2009
It seems that the Swiss People's Party, (SVP), the largest party in parliament, put a measure on the Swiss ballot to outlaw minarets within Switzerland. According to the SVP, minarets are a sign of Islamisation, and so must be banned. The measure passed with 57% of the popular vote.

Um....what?

I thought minarets were a single aspect of Middle Eastern architecture. While you see them on mosques and other Middle Eastern structures associated with Islam, you also see them on Russian Orthodox structures, as well as secular buildings.

So why are they suddenly symbolic of Islamic extremism? Based on the reading I've done, it appears that Swiss voters are afraid. They're afraid of Swiss Muslims, and believe they'll try and institute Shari'a in the Swiss democracy. They're afraid of radical Islam, and they're afraid allowing architecture to reflect Islamic belief will encourage radicals to settle in Switzerland. They think that by eliminating an outward symbol of Islam, they will stop the incursion of the radical belief system into their society.


Really, Swiss voters? You think that banning a symbolic structure that is associated with aspects of both moderate and radical Islam will allow you to maintain your culture without it being "polluted" by radical Islam?

Well, that's certainly the stupidest thing I've heard this week.

The reaction of the Muslim community has been predictably negative. They consider the ban to be a message of exclusion, and an indicator that the Swiss majority have no interest whatsoever in integrating Muslim citizens into Swiss society. And in my opinion, they think that because it's true.

Now make no mistake. The problem of radical Islam is no small matter, and all governments and citizenry are in a tricky situation in trying to address it while still maintaining human rights for all their citizens. Radical Islam must be contained. The secular rights of every other person depend on maintaining a separation of church and state that radical Islam abhors. But at the same time, Muslims who embrace a liberal world-view and want to integrate into secular society have just as much right to worship as they see fit as anyone. Depriving moderate Muslims of their rights and ability to participate fully in the cultural life of their country in an effort to contain the radicals is a cure that's worse than the disease.

I'm no fan of organized religion, but I do recognize and respect that it plays a hugely important role in human society. You can't stick your fingers in your ears and sing "LALALA - you can't build here!" in an effort to contain what you consider to be a "bad influence." The only way to protect everyone's rights in a secular society is to make a concerted effort to integrate all groups into the larger whole of the society. It's true that some people don't want to be integrated, but to exclude whole subsections of your population in an effort to contain the undesirables is just stupid.

Hopefully the Swiss supreme court will see that, too, and restore Muslim's rights in Switzerland. Mob rule - it's not just for Americans anymore, and 57% of Swiss voters get the 'tard award.

6 comments:

John the Scientist said...

Janiece, the Swiss supreme court isn't going to see it any way but the way the vote went because all but 4 of the Cantons votes for this. That makes it part of the Swiss Constitution, now.

This is a problem all over Europe. They don't see their immigrants as part of a melting pot, they see them as enclaves of foreigners who happen to have EU passports. The majority of people see themselves as a nation and a state, with nation having its original ethnic connotations. We Americans don't think like that, for the most part.

Because they segregate their immigrants, resentment and fear grows on either side.

This is one beef I have with the extreme multi-culturalists who beat up on the melting pot idea in America. Yes, you can become a full American, even someone like my wife who has a thick veneer of America over a very Chinese core. But you do have to give up something of your culture to be accepted. Not all of it, but some of it. If you are from the Far East, you ave to give up that idea that being on time is something only foreigners do, and you have to leave your stinky tofu out of the company lunchroom, and in restaurants where Nathan and I can share and enjoy. I mean, you can still do those things, but people will look at you funny. That's not cultural hegemony on their part, it's failure to adapt and be respectful of other people on yours.

But if you do those things, you're generally accepted as a real American, outside some rather nasty enclaves (that every country has to some degree or another). In Europe, the acceptance is not so easy, and this, coupled with their lack of constitutional protections and bills of rights, results in things like what we see in Switzerland.

Janiece said...

John, alert the media, for a miracle has occurred - I couldn't agree more.

I've been keeping an eye on this since the 2005 Muslim riots in France, and it's appalling to me that so many European countries intentionally isolate and marginalize their immigrant populations. They're apparently completely unaware that the reason America's economy has historically been so vibrant and innovative was because of the constant influx of new, hungry workers into our industrial complex. So they isolate and discriminate against their immigrants, then complain that they're unproductive? Talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face!

In this case, both the immigrant and in situ populations need to be willing to meet in the middle to achieve assimilation of the "outsiders." So for the immigrants, they need to enjoy their stinky tofu in a restaurant (and not the lunch room), and the natives need to be willing to open their minds (and their culinary tastes) to new experiences.

I'm not sure why this is so hard.

mom in northern said...

I'm not sure why this is so hard.

You don't find it hard because you were not raised to think it so...

Anne C. said...

It's BS like this that made persecution of the Jews "OK" in pre-WW2 Europe. "Those nasty furriners are the cause of ALL our problems!" [commence the wailing and gnashing of teeth]

Xenophobes Suck!

Janiece said...

Mom, while I appreciate the fact that I was raised to be open-minded, I don't think the culture in which you're raised controls your destiny. Acting like a narrow-minded git is the responsibility of the individuals who behave like asses, not their folks.

For example, I know you would never excuse someone for being a racist jerk just because their parents were. I don't see how this is different.

Jerry Critter said...

I bet such a measure would pass in this country also and by as big or bigger margin. After all, we can't let the Swiss be more retarded than we are.