Sunday, November 29, 2009

Partida Populara Svizra

Apparently, even having four national languages can't solve all issues.
Imagine this Swiss campaign poster in the New Haven Green:

"For more security"

Or these:
"Free pass for all? No"

"Stop! Yes to banning minarets"

Swiss Ban Building of Minarets on Mosques
(Nick Cumming-Bruce and Steven Erlanger)
In a vote that displayed a widespread anxiety about Islam and undermined the country’s reputation for religious tolerance, the Swiss on Sunday overwhelmingly imposed a national ban on the construction of minarets, the prayer towers of mosques

The referendum, which passed with a clear majority of 57.5 percent of the voters and in 22 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, was a victory for the right. The vote against was 42.5 percent. Because the ban gained a majority of votes and passed in a majority of the cantons, it will be added to the Constitution.