(Dec.02,2009): The Swiss bishops are expressing concern over a referendum vote that
resulted in the banning of minarets in Switzerland. In a communiqué published on Sunday,
the Swiss bishops' conference stated that the people's decision to prohibit the construction
of minarets in the country, approved that same day, represents an obstacle and a great
challenge on the path of integration in dialogue and mutual respect. The communiqué,
signed by the conference's director of communications, Walter Muller, affirmed that
this ban implies “manifest omission to show the people, that the prohibition of minarets
does not contribute to a healthy coexistence between religions and cultures but, on
the contrary, it deteriorates it.” The bishops warned that the initiative, driven
by the conservative Swiss People's Party and the Federal Democratic Union, increases
the problems of coexistence between religions and cultures. In the referendum,
more than 57% of the voters decided to include in the Swiss Constitution the prohibition
against constructing minarets. At present Switzerland has four minarets, which are
not currently used in the traditional Muslim call to prayer. The referendum sought
to halt new construction projects of these mosques towers, though the current minarets
will be left intact. The country, in which Islam is the second religion after Christianity
in the number of followers, has some 310,000 Muslims, in a population of 7.5 million
inhabitants.