Switzerland: leading the fight, or fascist?

The international hoo-ha about the Swiss banning minarets seems to have had a number of interesting results. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, says the decision reflects an upsurge in fascism in Europe (but then again he would, having been repeatedly snubbed in his attempts to get Turkey into the EU, something we shall come to regret, I think). Germany’s tabloid paper Bild says that Germans would have voted the same, and right wing politicians in Italy, France and Holland have said they will also press for a referendum in their countries.

For myself I do not agree with the proposal put to the Swiss electorate that the minaret is a symbol of Islam’s attempt to conquer the world. I do believe, though, that it is a symbol of a refusal to integrate. I believe the Swiss have restated their desire to be multiethnic but monocultural and in this I support them. If the call to prayer is important, and I can see that it is, it can be done by telephone or text.

What also comes out of this strongly is the Swiss independence of spirit. The proposal was condemned by the government and also by both sides of parliament and yet they went ahead with it. It makes you wish that the UK and other countries had such a system (they also voted in a couple of referendums not to be a part of the EU).