It isn't hard to argue that the law shows intolerance. It denies a particular group the right to build certain structure they consider important. I just don’t think it is all that intolerant though. I think any indigenous population has the right to reasonable protection of culture, even if those indigenous people happen to be white Europeans because the reality is they are in much more danger of being culturally over run then the Muslims are.
If the waited until the skyline was dotted with minarets and you could calls to prayer anywhere in the city it would be a little late to put in restrictions.
Firstly, considering how dominant western culture is all over the world, I wouldn't exactly say the white Europeans are in much more danger of being culturally overrun.
Secondly, calls to prayer aren't the issue, as I said I don't know of any mosque in Western Europe that actually does that.
And lastly, one needs building permits for all those mosques and minarets just like for anything else, it's quite possible that some have already been denied permits in Switzerland, and the local authorities of any city or village that feared a planned minaret would disturb their skyline could easily deny the permit. That's really not an argument for a blanket ban. This is a restriction of the authority of local authorities over their skyline, not support. In any case, the vast majority of mosques in Switzerland (and in most European countries really) lacks a minaret, I would guess largely for that reason: within a city, it's very hard to get a permit for any kind of tower. The fancy mosques with minaret are either quite old (the one in Brussels is over a century old, I believe, or close), or are built well away from the city center in a place where they don't stand out in the skyline.
It seems the Swiss ban on muslim minarets has passed rather quietly
02/12/2009 04:15:22 PM
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I mostly support the Swiss decision. As from my comment at Der Spiegel,
02/12/2009 05:54:11 PM
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Re: I mostly support the Swiss decision. As from my comment at Der Spiegel,
02/12/2009 06:23:09 PM
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I understand the first in Qatar was built in 2003.
02/12/2009 10:11:31 PM
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So you ban the steeples where church bells are not needed?
02/12/2009 07:19:16 PM
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I would take an equal line against steeples where there is no bell/or no bell allowed to be used.
02/12/2009 08:29:21 PM
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Does anyone know the legal effect of this referendum?
02/12/2009 10:00:54 PM
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It's Switzerland. Their referendums are binding.
02/12/2009 10:07:52 PM
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Do the Swiss think they live in 5th-century BC Athens or something?
02/12/2009 10:11:29 PM
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Switzerland is odd in a great many ways.
02/12/2009 10:14:26 PM
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Actually, I think I meant the European Court of Human Rights, not the ECJ.
02/12/2009 10:16:38 PM
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Yeah, but does that one have any power?
02/12/2009 10:17:54 PM
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ECHR Article 9 – Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
02/12/2009 10:52:35 PM
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I feel like I'm missing something in this debate
02/12/2009 11:21:03 PM
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The latter.
02/12/2009 11:22:49 PM
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Huh, that's bizarre
02/12/2009 11:39:03 PM
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It's coming from a party...
02/12/2009 11:42:49 PM
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sicherheit schaffen, that's great!
03/12/2009 12:00:00 AM
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I don't really see a problem with it
02/12/2009 10:09:55 PM
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They pretty much have.
02/12/2009 10:16:46 PM
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I would say it is a bit reactionary but i guess it depends on your definition of intolerance
03/12/2009 03:39:48 PM
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Several points...
03/12/2009 07:15:17 PM
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The Adhan can really get to you
02/12/2009 11:14:47 PM
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I think it seems kind of a silly waste of government power...
03/12/2009 12:27:29 AM
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It's not the government that did it. *NM*
03/12/2009 12:29:35 AM
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*re reads* Oh. I guess it's really power to the people over there
03/12/2009 12:35:59 AM
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