Provocation: Five Years after the Minaret Ban: The Muslims of Switzerland Rise Up against Islamophobia

Switzerland: Multicultural Paradise?
GATESTONE INSTITUTE: In March, the Swiss Federal Intelligence Service announced that a growing number of jihadists are being recruited in Switzerland. The number of robberies and assaults on Swiss trains has skyrocketed to such an extent that the Swiss government recently opted to equip transport police with firearms, and at least 1,400 women in Switzerland have been victims of forced marriages.

A controversial new report by the Swiss government claims that Muslim immigrants are so well integrated into Swiss society that no further federal policies or programs are needed to promote Muslim integration or to counter Islamic extremism.

Published by the Swiss Federal Council [Bundesrat] on May 8, the 102-page study -- known by the short title, "The Situation of Muslims in Switzerland" -- so completely downplays the countless problems associated with Muslim immigration in Switzerland that the report has been ridiculed as being worthy of a "case study in political correctness."

The report was first commissioned by proponents of multiculturalism within the Swiss Cabinet shortly after Swiss voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum in November 2009 to ban the construction of minarets, the tower-like structures on mosques that are often used to call Muslims to prayer.

The surprise outcome of the referendum, which passed with a clear majority of 57.5% of the voters, represented a turning point in the debate about Muslim immigration in Switzerland.

Among other matters, the referendum exposed the growing gap between Swiss multiculturalists and ordinary Swiss voters on the issue of Muslim immigration. The Swiss Federal Council had campaigned hard against the ban, arguing it would "endanger peace between religions" and "hinder integration." After the ban was approved, the government launched a multi-pronged effort to "educate" the Swiss populace through taxpayer-funded pro-Islam research.

The latest report estimates the Muslim population of Switzerland to be between 350,000 and 400,000, or around 5% of the total population of 8 million. The vast majority of Muslims in the country originate from the Balkans, Turkey and North Africa, and roughly one-third are Swiss citizens. Many of them are second- and third-generation immigrants firmly establishing themselves in Switzerland. » | Soeren Kern | Tuesday, May 21, 2013