Switzerland appears to have backed minaret ban

I'm really not sure we made the right decision there.

I think the Federal Council did a bad move to let this vote happen now.
We had this affair with Libya, which has two Swiss in hostage since 500 days and that idiot Kadaffy keeps provoking us. People are quick to make amalgams(sp?) and instead of voting on the ban or not of Minarets, we pretty much voted against Islam as a whole.
Because a lot of people are afraid and don't understand this religion.

I reassure you, this vote's result was really a surprise for everyone, even the one who started it (UDC, which you could call an extreme right wing partei) never though they'd win.
A lot of protest went all over the country after this results, with people marching for peace and understanding.
 
Fenris said:
Please explain how it is racism.

As far as I can tell, Miarets are directly associated with Islam which last time I checked was not a race, also they are not removing anyones right to practice the religeone of their choice or restrict the actions of a particular race.
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Yes, but look at the racial makeup of those who practise Islam in Switzerland and those who don't. It's a direct attack on immigrants, mainly from the Balkans and Turkey; it's just dressed up as an attack on religion for appearance's sake.
 
http://www.admin.ch/ch/e/rs/101/index.html

Whoever can find the most number of articles this will violate (and hence will have to be changed).

Point you to article 8 for example.

Art. 8 Equality before the law

1 Everyone shall be equal before the law.

2 No one may be discriminated against, in particular on grounds of origin, race, gender, age, language, social position, way of life, religious, ideological, or political convictions, or because of a physical, mental or psychological disability.

3 Men and women shall have equal rights. The law shall ensure their equality, both in law and in practice, most particularly in the family, in education, and in the workplace. Men and women shall have the right to equal pay for work of equal value.

4 The law shall provide for the elimination of inequalities that affect persons with disabilities.
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Unequal rights between muslims and non muslims. Will have to add a clause here. "Except for Islamic minarets". Makes the constitution a joke.

Note that something that looks like a minaret is absolutely fine. As soon as its part of a mosque or has an islamic purpose, its banned. Unless the're banning anything that looks like a minaret.

I've been reading some of the arguments in swiss papers. The worst that stands out is that (paraphrased): "You couldn't build a massive cathedral in places like Iran. The amendment merely reflects that, and isn't discriminatory against muslims."

http://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article5376864/Einer-muss-den-Anfang-machen.html

Die Schweizer sind die erste europäische Nation, die sich in einer freien Abstimmung gegen die Islamisierung ihres Landes entschieden hat. Aber nicht gegen die Religionsfreiheit oder den Islam als Religion. Nur gegen eine Asymmetrie der Verbote für Religionen im Orient und Okzident.
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In Afghanistan und Pakistan droht Konvertiten die Todesstrafe, Touristen dürfen nach Saudi-Arabien nicht einmal Bibeln im Gepäck mitführen.
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Since they've tried to "highlight" the asymmetry by basically copying bad laws, are they going to go the whole hog and copy the laws in the above quote? I'm sure in Afghanistan they will be bullied into changing their laws because the Swiss are punishing their own citizens.
 
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ghost101 said:
Unequal rights between muslims and non muslims. Will have to add a clause here. "Except for Islamic minarets". Makes the constitution a joke.
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To be fair I don't think there is unequal rights here, I am quite sure the ban is on all minarets so even non-muslims wouldn't be able to build one...:)
 
Tefal said:
what quote?:confused:
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Seeing as clicking and reading might be too much to ask sometimes:

The UN Charter is a treaty ratified by the United States and thus part of US law. Under the charter, a country can use armed force against another country only in self-defense or when the Security Council approves. Neither of those conditions was met before the United States invaded Afghanistan. The Taliban did not attack us on 9/11. Nineteen men - 15 from Saudi Arabia - did, and there was no imminent threat that Afghanistan would attack the US or another UN member country. The council did not authorize the United States or any other country to use military force against Afghanistan. The US war in Afghanistan is illegal."
”

— Marjorie Cohn, professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, president of the National Lawyers Guild[1][2]
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From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opposi...esent)#Disputed_legality_of_the_U.S._invasion
 
If we're talking body count, the LTTE tops the list...nobody here suggests their supporters need to be cleared out of the UK though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTTE

A few elements of the organisation:

Sea Tigers

The Sea Tigers is the naval force of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and is lead by Colonel Soosai.[85] It is believed to have about 2,000 personnel and has become a potent threat to the Sri Lankan Navy at Sea.[86] According to a 2006 publication of the Woodrow Wilson School of Politics and International Studies, the Sea Tigers have destroyed 35%-50% of the Sri Lankan Navy's coastal craft.[87][88]

Following its northern offensive, the Sri Lankan military reported that it captured Sea Tiger main base in Mullaitivu and several boat yards. In early February 2009, the military reported once again that it captured the last major Sea Tiger base, killing three senior commanders in the process[89] and thus limiting Sea Tiger operations. Several days later it was claimed that Sea Tigers leader Soosai and several top aids were killed in a Sri Lanka Air Force raid on a command center.[90]

Air Tigers

The Air Tigers was the air force of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The Air Tigers were believed to have operated five light aircraft. The organization was revealed in 2007 when it conducted its first air raid on the Sri Lankan Air Force base. It later conducted another four air raids. With the Air Tigers, LTTE became the first non-state organization to establish an air force. Although the Sri Lankan Army captured Kilinochchi on January 2, 2009, it was not able to locate the LTTE aircraft.[91] Later, two LTTE aircraft were shot down in Colombo during a suicide attack on the Sri Lanka Air Force headquarters and the Sri Lanka Air Force base hangars in Katunayake[92].
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In fact these sub-divisions are so notorious that they have seperate articles:

Black Tigers

The Black Tigers (Tamil: கரும்புலிகள்) are special wing of the LTTE who compose of specially selected and trained LTTE soldiers whose missions give them little chance of survival. The Black Tigers may even commit suicide if needed in order to complete their mission. They are considered to be one of the most lethal and effective suicide groups in the world. More than 330 Black Tigers have died in various actions on land and sea, almost all in Sri Lanka.[1] The Black Tigers have been attributed with the assassination of former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa.
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simpletom said:
The whole site is pretty anti-Islam/pro-Israel/anti-Obama/whatever. Citizen soldier indeed.
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It is a bit of an odd website. From the title I would assume it to be some sort of Libertarian website, however supporting a populist ban on minarets isn't all that libertarian.
 
RDM said:
It is a bit of an odd website. From the title I would assume it to be some sort of Libertarian website, however supporting a populist ban on minarets isn't all that libertarian.
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It is a very right-wing website:

"Pamela Geller she has made appearances on Hannity and Red Eye on the Fox News channel."

"Fearless, intelligent, beautiful --- Pamela Geller wears her Supergirl costume well." "Pamela Geller is a dynamo of energy and a paragon of courage and fearlessness. -- Robert Spencer, JihadWatch in his book Stealth Jihad

Hmmm... agendas indeed.
 
Interesting situation. However, I know exactly how I'd feel if Minarets started popping up all over Cambridge, in amongst the gorgeous buildings that have been there for hundreds, thousands of years.
 
platypus said:
Interesting situation. However, I know exactly how I'd feel if Minarets started popping up all over Cambridge, in amongst the gorgeous buildings that have been there for hundreds, thousands of years.
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Existing planning laws would probably suffice, why specifically ban minarets?
 
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