By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
New Delhi: Aware and concerned Muslims in India are sending letters to the Swiss Embassy in New Delhi protesting against the ban on mosque minarets in Switzerland.
The Swiss people have recently voted in a national referendum to ban the building of minarets. The Vatican has called this “a blow to religious freedom.”
In 2009 there were an estimated 400,000 Muslims in Switzerland, accounting to around 5% of the total population 7,739,100.
“I wonder how Muslims will respond. Throwing stones and burning flags is certainly not the answer. But if we take Islam seriously and want to support our brothers and sisters in Switzerland we must respond in some way,” says Omair, a research scholar at JNU.
He has sent a letter to the Embassy to express his concern on the ban.
“The very least we can do is write to embassies to express our concern. Indeed, this is
how Zionists have managed to establish themselves so strongly – by making their voices heard on every occasion they are threatened.”
“I write to you to express my deep disappointment and dismay at the decision of the Swiss Confederation to make the building of minarets in Switzerland illegal,” the letter reads. This referendum decision by the people of Switzerland is surely a retrograde step in our modern age and runs quite contrary to your country’s avowed support of religious freedom,” Omair says in his letter to the Ambassador.
“It is obvious to all Muslims that minarets are not a requirement in the building of mosques. Indeed, Muslims can pray anywhere and at any time and in any place. What is most distressing about the Referendum decision, then, is that a secular Right-Wing Party has used the guise of religion to implement an altogether different agenda in Switzerland. Their motivation is both political and sinister, singling out foreigners in Switzerland as somehow incompatible with the Swiss way of life. A ban on the building of minarets is therefore an affront to the freedom of Swiss citizens, based on their religious belief. It is also an affront to all Muslims, as the ones singled out for such treatment.”
“As one who works tirelessly throughout the world to promote tolerance and understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims, it is especially disheartening to me that the work of so many good people is being undermined by your country’s decision.”
The address of Embassy of Switzerland in New Delhi:
Embassy of Switzerland
Nyaya Marg, Chanakyapuri
New Delhi- 110021 PO Box 392
Tel:+911126878372
Fax:+911126873093
Email: [email protected]