Rather, the minaret is far more a symbol of the religious-political claim to power and dominance, which threatens—in the name of alleged freedom of religion—the constitutional rights of others. This is why the claim contradicts the constitution and rule of law in Switzerland. The Swiss Council of Religions, representing Jewish, Protestant, and Muslim religious leaders, has come out against a proposed ban on the construction of mosques with minarets in Switzerland. Swiss voters will decide on November 29 whether to approve the ban, first proposed in July, that would prevent construction of new minarets in the country. The referendum centers on a mosque that was to be built in the town of Langenthal, in the Swiss canton of Bern. In 2006, the Langenthal municipality gave permission for the construction of the mosque, complete with dome and minaret, on condition that the traditional Muslim call to prayer would not be issued from the building, but the decision was overruled by Bern canton officials, who cited zoning problems with the construction. However, minarets in other cities in Switzerland have been approved by the Swiss High Court following legal battles which concluded that Muslims have a right to build mosques with minarets. In Switzerland, any citizen can propose a national referendum to change the country's constitution, which gets voted on if more than 100,000 people sign it. The referendum proposed by a group of Bern area residents that would insert into the Swiss constitution the words "The construction of minarets is forbidden," has garnered over 115,000 signatures – which means that the proposal will go up for a national vote. The ban, however, has nothing to do with religion, backers of the referendum say. The ban is supported by Switzerland's conservative Swiss People's Party (SVP), which says that Muslims seek to project their political power with the construction of tall, dominating minarets. SVP parliamentarian Ulrich Schüler, a leading member of the anti-minaret movement, told the UK Independent last month that minarets "are symbols of a desire for power, of an Islam which wants to establish a legal and social order fundamentally contrary to the liberties guaranteed in our constitution." The SVP and a second conservative Swiss political party, the Federal Democratic Union (EDU), have helped garner signatures for the referendum. They initially tried to expand it as well, seeking additional constitutional bans. "Forced marriages, acts of personal vengeance, the non-recognition of the state’s monopoly on force, as well as gender-discriminatory school attendance would be prohibited," the amendment read. Currently, there are mosques with minarets in three major Swiss cities – Geneva, Zurich, and Winterthur, serving the country's more than 300,000 Muslims, mostly from Turkey and Albania. While there was little objection to the construction of minarets in large cities, Schüler said, small Swiss towns were not the place for them. "There may be different laws governing this kind of thing in certain part of Paris or Berlin, but we don't want them in Switzerland." He added that he was not opposed to the establishment of mosques – just minarets. "As a structure, the minaret has no religious character. It is not even mentioned in the Koran, nor in any other Islamic religious texts," Schüler added. "Rather, the minaret is far more a symbol of the religious-political claim to power and dominance, which threatens—in the name of alleged freedom of religion—the constitutional rights of others. This is why the claim contradicts the constitution and rule of law in Switzerland." Meanwhile, the Swiss Council of Religions issued a statement supporting the construction of minarets. "The Swiss Council of Religions supports integration instead of exclusion, as every human being is a divine creation from the point of view of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ways must be found to deal with differences and to live together in peace and mutual respect for each other and for each other’s beliefs," the statement said. "The minaret initiative does not solve any problems. On the contrary, it only contributes to suspicion, mistrust, and aggression against people of Muslim faith. The prohibition of minarets, moreover, would constitute a legal step backwards, as the Swiss people have already removed all religious exceptions from the federal constitution. Switzerland enjoys a long liberal tradition, one that seeks out dialogue and works towards a common learning process. The country recognizes that the true challenge lies in finding ways for all of the society’s members to live together despite any differences among them," it said.
