Ban Muslim architecture?

last updated 8 January 2015

In a national referendum, the Swiss have voted to ban the construction of minarets, prompting charges that the country is succombing to prejudice and "Islamophobia." Support for the measure was largely driven by the conservative Swiss People's Party, who argue that the minaret—a characteristically Muslim architectural form—is a symbol of a radical Islam. Is Switzerland justified in banning the structures? (Watch a report about Switzerland passing a minaret ban)

The ban is racist: The referendum ought to "shame Switzerland and worry Europe," says the editorial board of The Guardian. It was an instance of nation's characteristic "Alpine distrust of outsiders" lapsing into into explicit "racism." The vote will harm the country and tarnish its "cherished national brand."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Switzerland has a right to preserve its culture: The "outcry" over perceived "racism" is "predictable," says Jim Prevor at the Weekly Standard. But is it racist for a nation to takes steps to protect its "language, food, religion, government, architecture and all the things that make up a culture?" Whether or not minarets are built in Switzerland "is of little importance" either way. The real issue is whether it is a "legitimate" aspiration for a nation to want to maintain itself as a home for a culturally distinct population.

It's kind of pointless, actually: This vote "was a decidedly mild-mannered sort of protest," says the Wall Street Journal. Although minarets are now banned, "the building of mosques is unaffected." Ultimately, though, the measure doesn't accomplish much since "it becomes a very visible and easily exploited symbol of supposed European intolerance" while it also ignores the real problems around radical Islam that "gave rise to the fear of the minaret in the first place."