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The Storm Rages (over minarets, but NOT over Islam)

GalliaWatch 7 December 2009
By Tiberge

A long webpage at François Desouche offers a generous sampling of European, Arab, and Asian responses and reactions to the Swiss vote on minarets.

It is bewildering to think such a relatively minor event should generate such a furor. (I don't mean to make light of the Swiss vote, but they did not ban mosques, they did not ban Islam, there was no real criticism of Islamic ideology, only hints, through very graphic posters, that Islam was a threat to the well-being of Switzerland).

For the media, the ruling classes, the "professors", and the thought-control agents a veritable sacred cow has been slaughtered. Oddly enough, many of these people are otherwise atheists. But when it comes to Islam, they display a zeal that puts Martin Luther to shame.

Here is a tiny sampling of the larger sampling offered by FDS, beginning with the very cautious reaction of Nicolas Sarkozy, who, this time, has chosen (condescended?) to express a degree of nationalism. But this is deceptive, since it is still within the context of maintaining the Muslim population of France, or Switzerland, never in the context of actually restoring the nations to their former demographic makeup:

Nicolas Sarkozy brought up the issue of the ban on minarets in Switzerland on Tuesday at a meeting of the UMP party deputies. According to several of those present, he believes that the result of the Swiss referendum reveals the more general fear people have of seeing their country "denatured".

"He told us that it was evidence that the people, in Switzerland as in France, do not want their country to change, to become denatured. They want to keep their identity. According to Sarkozy's analysis, the French do not want to see women in burkas in the street. But that doesn't mean they are hostile to the practice of Islam," one deputy told AFP.

In contrast, Mario Borghezio of the patriotic Northern League and a member of the EU Parliament, is much more defiant (and more honest):

"The Swiss referendum has shown that there is a real country that has clearer ideas on the Islamic question than those of the official country. At this point it is extremely urgent that we hold a referendum in Italy: yes or no to mosques. A proactive consultation to allow the citizens to express themselves with clarity.

An Italian website Affritaliani.it (which I have not had time to consult) goes even further:

"Faced with the considerable infiltration of Islamic organizations tied to fundamentalism that we see here, we must determine if it is still feasible to keep open the mosques that we already have, that were authorized years ago without any preventive controls. Let's give the people in Italy a voice also."

Note: It's the first time I've seen a suggestion to close the already-existing mosques. If given a referendum, Italy would probably vote hands down against mosques in general. Would France do likewise?

As expected the UN is examining the legality of the Swiss initiative - not the voting itself, but the original text on which they voted. The following is greatly condensed from Le Soir, a Belgian website:

A spokesman from the UN Commission on Human Rights has indicated that the UN will take a stand on the results of the voting:

"Experts are examining the legal aspects."

The Special Rapporteur of the UN on freedom of religion was "profoundly worried" following the ban of minarets, and denounced an "obvious case of discrimination towards the members of the Swiss Muslim community. I have profound concerns about the negative effects of this vote on the freedom of religion and conviction of the Swiss Muslim community," declared Madame Asma Jahangir in a communiqué.

She also emphasized the fact that the Human Rights Commission had recently warned Switzerland that such a decision is contrary to the obligations of Switzerland by virtue of international law in the domain of human rights.

"I therefore urge the Swiss authorities to take the necessary measures to protect fully the right to freedom of religion and conviction of the Muslim community, (and I regret) that irrational fears with regard to Muslims have been so greatly exploited in Switzerland for political gain."

The UDC, one of the Swiss parties that sponsored the poster campaign against minarets, reacted angrily to the possible threat of retaliation against the vote:

"If the courts had the presumptuousness to overturn a popular decision by referring to the European Convention on Human Rights or to the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Switzerland would simply have to withdraw from those agreements," proclaimed the general secretary of the UDC Martin Baltisser. "Instead of just accepting the decision of the people, they are brandishing the threat of international public law." (...)

"To advance such arguments is to show a deplorable conception of democracy and to overtly disdain the rights of the people," storms Baltisser, proclaiming that the "UDC will fight with all the means at its disposal for the people's decision to be strictly applied."

Below the front page of the French left-wing daily Libération reads "The Vote of Shame."

Below a map showing the voting pattern: green areas for the ban, red areas against. Most of the green areas are German-speaking.

Bernard Kouchner is "scandalized" and offers what has got to be the most inane argument yet:

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has declared he is "a little scandalized" by the decision. "It is negative with regard to the concerns of the Swiss themselves because if you cannot build minarets, that means that you are oppressing a religion. I hope that the Swiss will quickly overturn this decision. It is an expression of intolerance and I hate intolerance (sic!). The construction of minarets is not of great importance. Is it an offense in a country of mountains that there is a building a little bit higher?"

Kouchner and his like would be more than "a little" scandalized if they saw this Figaro poll (which I'm sure they have, but they probably consider Le Figaro to be a "right-wing extremist" publication). The question reads: "Should the building of new minarets in France be forbidden?"

There is a super glut of articles, videos and comments by the thousands at François Desouche. French readers already know this. English-language readers can easily guess that the reaction of Muslims throughout the world is one of "anger, shock, humiliation", etc... Other European countries are considering having their own referendum, prompted by Geert Wilders who welcomes the Swiss vote and spurred on by the ramifications of the referendum which extend far beyond the confines of the UDC party. For 57% of the Swiss people to have voted for the ban, thousands of members of other parties must have also had feelings of nationalism and a desire for self-preservation, proving conclusively that this is not a "plot" by the extreme-Right.

In France, many left-wing websites and publications have not been able to ignore the surface truth - that the peoples of Europe do not want minarets. Less obvious, but equally unavoidable is the underlying implication - that the peoples of Europe do not want Islam at all. Marianne2 has posted the results of polls taken in Spain and Germany. Here are the results from the Spanish-language El Mundo and the German Welt Online (I trust no translation is needed):