Switzerland About To Vote On Minaret Ban

[Ja'chyra]

Lol, some of the comments in here are bordering on the ridiculous.

So the Swiss voted to ban minarets, what exactly is wrong with that? As I see it they have their way of running the country which says that the people get to vote on things, at least the people are represented rather than relying on politicians to reflect the peoples wishes, which is impossible so they should be representing the majority of their constituents but how many actually do that?

So who should vote? Why should it only be people with a minimum level of IQ, does having a lower IQ mean you don't have an opinion? Of course it doesn't and as they live in the country then their view is just as valid as anyones. If you do go down that road where should the IQ limit be set, surely a genius should be able to argue that it should be, say, set at the level of his IQ as his decisions will be more rational and thought out than someone with an IQ lower than his, so maybe the most intelligent person in country should just make all the decisions and cut out all the middle men, or citizens are they are sometimes called..

Are the Swiss racist? Going by this vote there is no evidence to suggest they are, if they voted and passed a bill saying that all muslims should be deported then you may have an argument.

In my view saying that the Swiss are racist based on this story is the same as saying, oh I don't know so lets pick one from thin air, all British soldiers are criminals. It's just plain ignorant and bigotted.

[Fragony]

So the Swiss voted to ban minarets, what exactly is wrong with that?

Incredibly much, I think Darius summed it up few posts back.

[Furunculus]

Incredibly much, I think Darius summed it up few posts back.

that people other than the Swiss may perceive this as anti-muslim-religion rather than anti-non-swiss-architecture is their problem, not the Swiss peoples.

As a German I can confirm that "Bild" is a populist piece of yellow press filth with a lot of racist untertones in its "reporting".

cheers for the info, and yet, der spiegel seems to think that Bild's editorial is inline with popular german opinion, and that germany would have given the same result to the same referendum..........?

[Ser Clegane]

and yet, der spiegel seems to think that Bild's editorial is inline with popular german opinion, and that germany would have given the same result to the same referendum..........?

Quite frankly - if we had such a referendum here in Germany, I would not be surprised to see an outcome very similar to that in Switzerland.
While "Bild" might be correct with this assessment, my problem with this "newspaper" is that they would certainly also try to incfluence the public opinion to get the same result as in Switzerland.

Personally, I would object to such a general ban of minarets - the construction of minarets should be subject to case by case decisions just like every other construction project.
Minarets should not get special treatment - neither in a positive nor in a negative way.

But in the end I have to agree with you - it was a democratic decision by the Swiss and the other side apparently failed to make a compelling argument for their case...

[Andres]

Personally, I would object to such a general ban of minarets - the construction of minarets should be subject to case by case decisions just like every other construction project.

I agree that that would be better. Maybe the Swiss would have decided likewise if it would have been an option, but it seems like nobody thought of putting in the option "let the local authorities decide case by case" in the referendum.

It was apparently a yes or no question and the Swiss decided "no" and it was a democratic decision.

What I dislike is that people jump to conclusions too hastily. Voting no against minarets doesn't make one a racist.

[Subotan]

Quite frankly - if we had such a referendum here in Germany, I would not be surprised to see an outcome very similar to that in Switzerland.
While "Bild" might be correct with this assessment, my problem with this "newspaper" is that they would certainly also try to incfluence the public opinion to get the same result as in Switzerland.

Of course. They're the equivalent of The Sun, in that they're just a comic; it literally translates as "PICTURES".

[Furunculus]

Of course. They're the equivalent of The Sun, in that they're just a comic; it literally translates as "PICTURES".

and yet............................................ both der spiegel and ser clegane admit that germaNY probably would have voted the same way.

you can rubbish the source, but that does nothing to rubbish the result.