Mosques and burqas stir opposition in Europe

In Switzerland, voters go to the polls to decide whether to allow minarets. In Spain, a go-slow policy appears to emerge. While France and Italy appear poised to prohibit distinctive dress by Muslim women, the burkha or chador, which has been defined by French President Nicholas Sarkozy as a "symbol of the subjugation of women,” Swiss voters will go to the polls on Sunday November 29 to decide whether to ban minarets – the from which Muslim faithful are call to prayer at mosques.

The Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which enjoys a majority in the Swiss parliament, managed to get the measure on the ballot. It would not affect current mosques, but only those that would be built in the future. Switzerland now counts at least 310,000 Mohammadens, or some 4.6 percent of the total population, and approximately 200 mosques. The Swiss Federation of Islamic Organizations has noted that only four mosques in the country have minarets and none of them feature the call of the muezzin to prayer so as not to violate Switzerland’s strict noise-control laws.

The SVP has asserted that the minarets are not actually religious in nature but political and symbolize "domination,” linking them to Islamic law or sharia – "the enemy of liberty.” The SVP has noted a speech made by the current Turkish prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan, who said in 1997 "The mosques are our barracks, their domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets, the faithful our soldiers.”

Switzerland’s national government, as well as other institutions such as the Roman Catholic hierarchy, has expressed opposition to a ban on minarets. The Conference of Catholic Bishops of Switzerland has issued a statement saying "Our rejection of the initiative is based on our Christian values and the democratic principles of our country (...)