Swiss minaret dispute

The Swiss minaret dispute dealt with the construction of new minarets and began in 2007. In 2009, it led to the inclusion of a building ban in the federal constitution of the Swiss Confederation in a referendum . The public rejection of minarets in Switzerland was a relatively new phenomenon. The dispute began with the building applications for minarets in Wangen bei Olten , Langenthal and Wil . They sparked protests in parts of the population as well as political debates about how building applications from Islamic communities should be handled.

chronology

The minaret dispute began in early 2006 with resistance to building applications for minarets on existing Muslim prayer rooms in three Swiss communities ( Wangen bei Olten , Langenthal and Wil SG ), and with the plan for the construction of the Islamic Center in Bern, which will become the largest center for the Muslims in Europe should be. The dispute came to a head up to the launch of an initiative entitled “Against the building of minarets” by conservative political circles. Some of the building applications are still pending today. Many politicians from all parties have since spoken out about the minaret dispute.

Minarets and planning applications

Before the requests, there were three buildings with a minaret in Switzerland: the Mahmud mosque in Zurich (1963), the Geneva mosque (1978) and the mosque of the Islamic-Albanian community in Winterthur (2005). The minaret at the center of the Turkish cultural association in Wangen near Olten was built in 2009, the other requests were not implemented.

The building applications are the responsibility of the municipalities. The article included in the Federal Constitution by referendum does not apply.

Wangen near Olten

Mosque of the Turkish cultural association Olten with minaret

The case in Wangen near Olten (Canton Solothurn) was the first to attract attention. After the minaret building project was announced by the Turkish cultural association ("Olten Türk Kültür Ocağı") in Wangen, conservative local politicians launched a collection of signatures against the building of the minaret. There was additional controversy there that the Turkish cultural association in Wangen, which had submitted the application for building a minaret for its mosque, hoisted the flag with the symbol of a gray wolf above the building next to the flags of Switzerland and Turkey; this raised fears that the cultural association had connections with the right-wing extremist group Gray Wolves . The request was finally rejected from building code reasons, after which the Turkish cultural association Olten appeal lodged against the decision. The Turkish Association's appeal was approved by the cantonal building and justice department on July 13, 2006. The Building and Justice Department stated that the association had to be given the building permit to erect a six-meter-high symbolic minaret on the roof of its club premises in the municipality's commercial zone.

The community of Wangen and two residents of Wangen filed a complaint with the cantonal administrative court; on November 23, 2006, the latter dismissed the complaint. As a result, residents of Wangen filed a complaint with the Swiss Federal Court, which was dismissed on July 4, 2007.

At the beginning of September 2007, board members of the Turkish cultural association confirmed to the television program Schweiz aktuell that the minaret was being built. In January 2009 it was mounted on the roof.

Langenthal

In Langenthal (Canton Bern) the Islamic community Xhamia e Langenthalit (IGGL) wanted to expand their mosque. She therefore submitted a planning application for the enlargement of the existing club and prayer room, i. H. for the construction of a non-accessible and non-soundable minaret and the construction of a roof dome. As in Wangen, the local population submitted a petition with 3,500 signatures against the building of the minaret. By the end of the deadline for objection at the end of July 2006, 76 objections to the building application had been received by the municipal building authority. The city approved the construction in December 2006 after the Muslim community had contractually agreed not to call to prayer from the planned minaret.

20 opponents reached the Canton of Bern with their complaints . In April 2007, the Energy Directorate of the Canton of Bern approved the complaints against the renovation of the Islamic Cultural Center in Langenthal and revoked the city's building permit. The canton announced the following reasons: lack of an operational and utilization concept (to assess whether the construction project, to which a minaret belongs, conforms to the zone in the residential zone); Failure to clarify whether a hospitality permit is required to run the club's premises; It is unclear whether there will be enough parking spaces for large events. The files were returned to the city of Langenthal, which was supposed to clarify the facts again and decide again on the building permit. This decision would in turn be subject to appeal.

At the same time as the minaret dispute began in Langenthal, the Sikh temple Gurdwara Sahib was completed.

Wil SG

In Wil (Canton St. Gallen), the local Islamic-Albanian community has been planning to build a minaret since mid-2006. Specifically, a cuboid with a crescent moon is to be created; the imam of the religious community, Bekim Alimi, presented his plans to Bern. As a location for the mosque is an area next to the highway A1 at Wil for discussion. On the other hand, the Swiss People's Party (SVP) issued a motion in September 2006 calling for a ban on minarets to be included in the building law. At the beginning of November 2006, the St. Gallen government rejected the motion, arguing that it violated freedom of belief and the principle of equal rights. In addition, she justified that there were no objective reasons for treating religious buildings differently from the other categories of buildings when receiving a permit. The government asked the Cantonal Council to refuse the motion.

The Thurgau doctor and president of the umbrella organization for Islamic communities in Eastern Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein (Digo), Hizham Maizar, said that with his social and cultural commitment in Wil, Bekim Alimi had provided evidence that he was not outside of an Islamic parallel structure, but with of the local society.

Bern-Wankdorf

In response to an initial, non-binding request for a CHF 60 to 80 million Islamic center with shops, a four-star hotel, museum and mosque in the city of Bern , the Bern City Council on June 1, 2007, refused to act. Umma, the umbrella organization for Bernese Muslims, planned a building complex with a gross floor area of ​​23,000 square meters and a floor area of ​​8,400 square meters on the former slaughterhouse site in Bern-Wankdorf . In the opinion of the municipal council, the clear requirements for the mix of uses on the Wankdorf site would leave no room for the project and there would be no possibility of this type of construction anywhere else in the city of Bern.

The Bern municipal council supported the interreligious dialogue, for example with the planned construction of a House of Religions . The city granted the building permit for this in April 2007. According to the Israel Network , the initiator of the cultural center, the Swiss sociologist Farhad Afshar , who comes from an Iranian aristocratic family , has already emphasized in earlier projects that Muslims can only participate if the projects include a representative mosque with a minaret.

Initiatives against minarets

Parliamentary initiative against minarets in the canton of Zurich

In September 2006, the Zurich Cantonal Council debated a parliamentary initiative by the SVP aimed at a ban on building minarets in the Canton of Zurich (wording of this proposed Section 294 Planning and Building Act ZH : “Building permits for buildings with minarets will be granted in the area of ​​the Canton of Zurich not granted"). The initiative was supported by the Swiss Democrats (SD) and the Federal Democratic Union (EDU); the parties planned the initiative to ban minarets as early as April 2006. The initiative was provisionally supported by just under 62 votes in the cantonal parliament (60 votes were required). When the initiative was finally discussed at the end of June 2008, however, only 50 votes fell on the initiative, 112 council members were against it. A ban on minarets was thus rejected at the cantonal level.

Federal popular initiative "Against the building of minarets"

→ Main article : Federal popular initiative «Against the building of minarets»

On May 1, 2007, a federal popular initiative entitled Against the construction of minarets (minaret initiative for short), which wants to prohibit the construction of minarets in Switzerland, was officially launched. It was launched by politicians from the Swiss People's Party (SVP) and the Federal Democratic Union (EDU). On July 8, 2008, representatives of the initiative committee submitted 113,540 valid signatures to the Federal Chancellery . The Federal Council and the two houses of parliament rejected the initiative and recommended that those entitled to vote put a no in the ballot box. The bill was put to the vote on November 29, 2009 and - contrary to predictions based on polls - was adopted by 57.5% of the voters and 19.5  stands . 53.4% ​​of the Swiss eligible to vote took part in the vote.

Originally the initiative committee wanted to include other aspects in the initiative; In November 2006, for example, it was announced that “the request should ensure that forced marriage , adjustments to personal justice for revenge , non-recognition of the state monopoly of violence and gender-unequal interpretation of compulsory schooling would be prevented from the very beginning”.

In the run-up to the parliamentary elections on October 21, 2007 , opponents of the initiative expressed the opinion that the initiative was a populist campaign tactic. It was questioned whether the general construction ban on minarets in Switzerland could prevent the spread of Islamist ideologies that are hostile to Western society: “It is of little use to fight against the construction of a minaret without knowing which one Activities in the mosque would be offered. That is why the control of the activities in a mosque is more important than the minaret. " A general construction ban on minarets was also seen by opponents of the initiative as preventing dialogue: a minaret is a sign of identity for Muslims, like religious buildings for other religious communities, and it is in the interests of religious freedom (and national peace) that Muslims have mosques with minarets (represented among others by Kurt Koch , the then bishop of the Basel diocese and president of the Swiss Bishops' Conference ).

The five most important German-speaking Muslim organizations expressed themselves in an open letter on May 15, 2007: “We are convinced that the majority of the Swiss population does not support such initiatives, as this undermines the fundamental values ​​of religious freedom for the first time. This damages the reputation of liberal and neutral Switzerland, both in Europe and around the world. "

The popular initiative against the construction of minarets has called on the Federal Council's Security Committee (which includes ex-Defense Minister Samuel Schmid , Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey and ex-Justice Minister Christoph Blocher ) and causes the Swiss secret services to react to Islamist circles Pursue the minaret initiative. In May 2007, Calmy-Rey commented on the minaret initiative: “Such an initiative endangers Swiss interests and the security of Swiss people” . The minaret controversy became better known in the Arab world when Ulrich Schlüer, then SVP National Councilor , was interviewed by the Arab broadcaster Al Jazeera in June 2007 . Some fear that, as in the cartoon controversy, there could be violent reactions in Muslim circles directed against Switzerland. At the federal level, a kind of language regulation was therefore passed that applies to federal councilors, department spokespersons and Swiss ambassadors abroad who are confronted with questions about the initiative by foreign media in order to “prevent misunderstandings by being factually informed about democratic practices in Switzerland, informs about the content and the status of the initiative ». The first official statement under this regulation was from June 2007:

“There is no minaret ban in Switzerland. On the other hand, signatures are currently being collected for a popular initiative that proposes such a ban as a supplement to Article 72 of the Federal Constitution. (...) If the initiative comes about, the Federal Council (government) sends a recommendation for acceptance or rejection to the Federal Assembly (parliament). This checks the legality of the initiative and, if the check is positive, recommends it to the voters (citizens) for acceptance or rejection. The initiative is accepted if it unites a majority of people and cantons in the vote. The «minaret ban initiative» could not reach a vote until 2010 at the earliest. "

- Heightened alert because of the minaret initiative , NZZ on July 1, 2007

In an interview with Deutschlandfunk (DLF), the National Councilor and Council of Europe member Andreas Gross stated that the real problem is that the constitution of the country, by emphasizing the centuries-old principle of direct democracy , but not to the same extent that of human rights , is in a certain contrast to membership in the Council of Europe. As a result, sooner or later there will be a conflict that might solve the problem.

A more detailed evaluation of the voting results at the community level shows a gap between urban and rural populations. In the city ​​of Bern, almost two thirds of the voters rejected the initiative, while in the Bernese Oberland district of Frutigen two thirds approved the initiative. The initiative was also rejected on the Geneva and Zurich Gold Coasts.

The initiative was rejected in three of the four communities in which minarets are already in place (Zurich, Winterthur, Geneva and Wangen bei Olten) and accepted in Wangen bei Olten.

The media talked about the urban-rural ditch, which outweighed the so-called Röstigraben . Urban-rural ditch or urban-rural divide refers to the difference in the voting results between urban and rural populations in the anti-minaret initiative. The difference was 11.7% more “yes” votes in rural areas. The Röstigraben is the difference of opinion between French and German-speaking Switzerland , which is shown in the voting results. The difference was 11.4% more “yes” votes in German-speaking Switzerland.

Ban on minarets as word of the year

The word “ban on minarets” was chosen as word of the year in German-speaking Switzerland following the adoption of the “Against the construction of minarets” initiative .

Federal court ruling on the primacy of human rights conventions

In a different context, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that Switzerland’s obligations under international law take precedence over even later deviating constitutional provisions. It is therefore conceivable that minarets can still be approved, provided they comply with all other regulations.

literature

• Werner T. Bauer: Headscarf and minaret - an excitement Austrian Society for Policy Advice and Policy Development - ÖGPP. (PDF file; 171 kB)
• Andreas Gross , Fredi Krebs, Martin Stohler (eds.): Minaret Initiative - From provocation to error . Saint-Ursanne 2009, ISBN 978-3-9522627-3-3 . This book is also available in French ISBN 978-3-9522627-9-5
• Andreas Gross , Fredi Krebs, Martin Schaffner , Martin Stohler (eds.): From provocation to error Volume II - Human rights and democracy after the minaret building ban . Saint-Ursanne 2010, ISBN 978-2-940455-00-3 (This book is also available in French, ISBN 978-2-940455-01-0 ).
• Jörg Hüttermann: The minaret. On the political culture of the conflict over Islamic symbols , Juventa, Weinheim / Munich 2006, ISBN 3-7799-1495-6 .
• Andreas Kley, Alexander Schaer: Does religious freedom guarantee a right to a minaret and a call to prayer? In: Mathias Tanner et al. (Ed.): Streit um das Minarett , Theologischer Verlag Zurich, Zurich 2009, pp. 87 ff., ISBN 978-3-290-17549-8 (= contributions to a theology of religions , volume 8).
• Alexander Schaer: Right to a minaret and a call to prayer? in: Church messenger of the evangelical ref. Church of the Canton of St. Gallen 10/2007, p. 5. (PDF file; 862 kB)
• Alexander Schaer: The minaret in the (political) cross fire in: AJP / PJA 9/2008, p. 1133 ff.
• Alexander Schaer: Minaret Initiative - In Contradiction to the Constitution , in: akzente 2/09, p. 5.
• Alexander Schaer: Minaret , in: Ders .: “One must obey God more than men!” (Acts 5:29) - Law as a solver of interdenominational conflicts using the example of Islam in Switzerland , Zurich / Berlin 2009, p. 32 ff.
• Alexander Schaer: Solving problems, not creating in: EVP Info 4/09, p. 1.
• Marcel Stüssi: Does Parliament have to declare the initiative to ban minarets invalid? , News - Chair of State Church Law (University of Lucerne 2008).
• Marcel Stüssi: Ban on Minarets (2008), English-language legal analysis
• Marcel Stüssi: Swiss minaret ban: an isolated case? Swiss church newspaper 36/2009.
• Edwin Egeter: Modern or Traditional? New religious buildings by migrants in Switzerland , Akademikerverlag, Saarbrücken 2014, ISBN 978-3-639-49490-7 .
• Ralph Zimmermann: On the initiative to ban minarets in Switzerland (PDF; 394 kB) in: Journal for Foreign Public Law and International Law (ZaÖRV) 2009, 829

Web links

Commons : Minarets in Switzerland  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Citizens' initiatives

• Federal popular initiative "Against the building of minarets"

TV reports

• Euronews : The Swiss minaret debate , November 19, 2009
• Swiss television : debates after the vote in the program Club 2009

items

• Tariq Ramadan on the Swiss minaret ban: Islam is a European religion
• SVP: A single people of minaret opponents , Berner Zeitung , February 21, 2009
• Bishop Koch: Anti-minaret initiative «completely counterproductive» , 20 minutes , December 28, 2008
• Marianne Affolter: Why are minarets erected? Historical backgrounds and current interpretations. , NZZ , September 2, 2008
• Minaret dispute: Vortex over minaret in the middle of Langenthal , 20 minutes, August 29, 2008
• Minaret Initiative: “A tooth for a tooth cannot be the answer” , 20 minutes, August 28, 2008
• 113,000 signatures: Minaret initiative comes before the people , 20 minutes, July 29, 2008
• Oliver Geden: Export hit “Minaret ban” (PDF; 33 kB) , Süddeutsche Zeitung , August 2, 2007, p. 11.
• Thomas Widmer: The minaret - a kind of victory column , Die Weltwoche , edition 19/2007
• Mosques without minarets: SVP and EDU want to prevent construction by means of a popular initiative , NZZ, May 3, 2007
• Andreas Fagetti: Fear of an Islamic Parallel Society ( Memento from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) , St. Galler Tagblatt , September 23, 2006; Archive version
• Renat Künzi: The minaret dispute: steps asked by both sides , Swissinfo , September 4, 2006
• Beat Bumbacher: Empty churches and full mosques: New numbers on religious affiliation , NZZ, December 21, 2004
• Paul Hinder : The Catholic bishop in Arabia in an interview about the anti-minaret in Switzerland and church towers on the Arabian Peninsula , BAZ online , December 3, 2008
• Muezzin singing - but the Grossmünster remains in the village , 20 minutes, July 12, 2007
• Initiative against minarets invalid? , The Journal of Religious Freedom, Sept. 14, 2008

Further

• Vote information from Vimentis
• Chronology of the popular initiative
• Image of the advertising poster in the report from the Council of Europe

Individual evidence

1. ^ Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation: Article 72 Church and State
2. ^ Neue Zürcher Zeitung : No problems despite the minaret. The construction of the Mahmud Mosque in Zurich 43 years ago hardly triggered any criticism. , September 23, 2006
3. ^ Swissinfo, plans for the Islamic Center in Bern
4. ↑ Catholic International Press Agency, "Since we had a minaret, the Swiss have come to visit us" ( Memento from January 31, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 40 kB) , July 14, 2006.
5. ↑ Dome - Temple - Minaret ( Memento from May 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
6. ^ NZZ : Controversial minaret inaugurated in Wangen , July 27, 2009
7. ^ Swiss television , building application for minaret rejected ( memento from April 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) - 10vor10, February 7, 2006.
8. ↑ Inforel.ch: Minaret and "Gray Wolves" in Wangen
9. ^ NZZ : No permission for a minaret , February 8, 2006.
10. ↑ Ref.ch, Reformed News: minaret in Wangen must still be built ( Memento of 27 September 2007 at the Internet Archive ), July 14th of 2006.
11. ^ Canton of Solothurn: press release Wangen bei Olten - minaret approved.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. July 13, 2006.  
12. ↑ Judgment of the Solothurn Administrative Court  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. dated November 24, 2006  
13. ↑ Tages-Anzeiger , minaret comes before the federal court  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   , January 8, 2007
14. ↑ Judgment of the Federal Court of July 4, 2007, file number 1P.26 / 2007  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
15. ↑ NZZ Online, Minaret in Wangen can be built , July 11, 2007.
16. ↑ News.ch, minaret in Wangen b. Olten is being built  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.   , September 13, 2007.
17. ↑ Swissinfo, petition filed against minaret in Langenthal ( Memento from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
18. ↑ Livenet, Langenthal: Many objections to planning permission for minaret
19. ↑ Factum magazine: Minaret Langenthal rejected ( Memento from May 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
20. ↑ Islam.ch: Langenthal has to reassess construction project for minaret ( memento of September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
21. ↑ KR Motion 42.06.21: Make the construction of minarets and religious architecture subject to the compulsory referendum. Council information system, Cantonal Council St. Gallen, archived from the original on August 9, 2014 ; Retrieved August 12, 2010 . 
22. ↑ kipa / gs / job: St. Gallen: opposition to minaret in Wil. (PDF; 42 kB) Catholic International Press Agency, August 30, 2006, archived from the original on November 26, 2011 ; Retrieved August 12, 2010 . 
23. ↑ smw: Minaret buildings in the canton of St. Gallen not before the people. Nachrichten.ch, November 10, 2006, accessed on August 12, 2010 . 
24. ↑ Andreas Fagetti: Fear of a parallel society ; Minaret dispute in Wil - SVP opposed, Imam Bekim Alimi declares himself. St. Galler Tagblatt, September 23, 2006, accessed on August 12, 2010 . 
25. ↑ NZZ , Islam Center in the City of Bern , April 29, 2007.
26. ↑ Basler Zeitung , City of Bern: No Islamic Center in Wankdorf ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) , June 1, 2007.
27. ↑ Israel-network, The Islam-Center is a project Afshar - the Tagi from May 2, 2007 on the Bern building project ( Memento from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) , May 2, 2007.
28. ^ SVP blows a storm on minarets , Tages-Anzeiger , September 5, 2006.
29. ↑ The Citizen Herald, A Zurich Minaret Ban?
30. ↑ Federal Office of Justice , page no longer available , search in web archives: popular initiative "Against the construction of minarets"
31. ↑ Federal Council media release against building ban on minarets ( memento of March 24, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) of August 27, 2008
32. ↑ NZZ Online, Switzerland prohibits the construction of minarets , November 29, 2009.
33. ↑ NZZ Online, Clear, but ambiguous no to minarets , November 29, 2009.
34. ↑ Basler Zeitung , deadline for the initiative “Against the construction of minarets” is running ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
35. ↑ Swissinfo, Popular Initiative for a Minaret Ban , May 3, 2007.
36. ↑ Vatican Radio , Switzerland: Bishops against general ban on minarets ( Memento of October 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) , May 3, 2007.
37. ↑ Association of Islamic Organizations in Zurich, statement on the initiative to ban minarets ( memento of August 30, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 48 kB)
38. ↑ Swiss television , Calmy-Rey defends itself against the minaret initiative ( memento from July 15, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) , May 15, 2007.
39. ↑ NZZ , ( page no longer available , search in web archives: heightened alertness due to minaret initiative ) , July 1, 2007.
40. ↑ Swiss minaret decision violates EU human rights convention , Interview by Deutschlandfunk with the Swiss National Council and Council of Europe Andreas Gross, December 3, 2009
41. ^ Federal referendum of November 29, 2009. In: sta.be.ch (State Chancellery of the Canton of Bern, PDF ).
42. ↑ The Federation of November 30, 2009
43. ↑ SF Tagesschau: And the word of the year is: «Minaret ban» ( Memento from December 7, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
44. ↑ Swiss word of the year. Retrieved July 26, 2014 . 
45. ↑ judgment 2C_828 / 2011 of October 12, 2012
46. ↑ Markus Häfliger: The minaret ban is also not absolutely applicable , NZZ Online, February 9, 2013, accessed on December 2, 2014.