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Europe pushing Muslims to a corner?
NDTV Correspondent, Saturday December 5, 2009, Paris

The Swiss vote saying 'yes' to banning the construction of minarets has sparked off a debate all over Europe, whether extreme right or secular left is the public opinion on Islam equally hostile?

The posters of the party that launched the minaret campaign in Switzerland, show white sheep kicking a black sheep off the Swiss flag, crows shredding the Swiss flag into bits and minarets shaped like missiles with burqa clad figures.

In neighbouring France, where church bells are not allowed to ring for prayer services but only to indicate the time, secularism means religion has to be understated and kept out of matters of the state. But some feel that the secular opinion, instead of being neutral, could also be turning hostile to Muslims living in Europe.

"We are framing the issue of integration of migrants as a moral divide, a conflict between values. There will be all values; the secular values being part of this framing as opposed to their values - like Islam, polygamy, deviance whatsoever. We discover that we can be progressive in terms of values and very intolerant vis a vis others," said Christophe Bertossi, from French Institute of International Relations.

The Swiss vote is not just being seen as a huge triumph of the extreme right in Europe, but also raising concerns that the idea of secularism where neutrality is seen as progressive is perhaps also being used as a tool to challenge Muslim identity, pushing Muslims living in Europe into a tight corner.
 
 
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Tags: ban, minarets, Switzerland
Comments
Posted by Amit on Dec 28, 2009
The author of this article got the facts wrong. There is nothing wrong in denying minarets or burkha in Europe. The purpose of minerets is to preach sermon loudly to force others to listen. Why should this be allowed? The issue here is of integration with majority culture. If one does not want to adopt the culture of the country they are living in, they have no business in the first place to be there. Now Islam itself is not known for tolerance and respect for other religion. Name an islamic country that will allow even churches or temples to be constructed with out hurdles? In most middle eastern countries imposing construction of Churches or temples will not be allowed. They will not allow even public praying of other religion. Respect and tolerance of other religion works both ways. The current Islam is pretty regid in this respect. It is natural for others to put up defenses against Islam.
Posted by anonymous on Dec 28, 2009
Islamic countries are intolerant of other faiths. They have a poor track record in democracy, liberalism and human rights Let their religion be a personal affair. Let them respect Swiss culture, Swiss values and the democratic verdict of the people of Switzerland. Hypocrites should not make a The Religious Clerics and Mullahs are still controlling islam and is not allowing it to become MODERN Europe wants to save its identity and ethics Secularism in Europe unlike in India does not mean encouragement of Islamization at the cost of existing majority local institutions. In short these symbols of religious Islamization are direct threat to Secularism. It is a necessary step to save secularism. The question should really be will islamic nations like Arabia allow construction of churches on their land???
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