Does the Swiss minaret ban violate Muslims' religious freedom? Minarets, religiously, are a small part of Islam, and being a symbol of Islam's political supremacy, sitting a monumental legacy of oppression which is ongoing, its ban is perfectly legitimate in a secular society with strict separattion of religion and politics. In reality, it's a backlash against Islam's unfettered liberty in violating religious freedom and human rights of others. Moreover, the said ban may be the first opening to solving Islam's monumental problem with secular democracy, smoothly, to avoid a Clash of Civilizations... only if Muslims would show intellectual capacity to comprehend the message and grab the opportunity...
The Swiss ban on mosque-top minarets on the ground of its being a symbol of political domination of Islam, an instrument incompatible with the secular Swiss society with strict separation between religion and state, has attracted widespread condemnations worldwide.
Most of all, Switzerland is poised to be brought before the European or the U.N. Commission of Human Rights because the ban, if enforced, would constitute a violation of religious freedom of Muslims.
Does the minaret ban constitute a violation of Muslims’ religious freedom?
It may constitute such a violation, but only to a small measure, as their freedom of worship, including the freedom to build mosques, is not tampered with. The Minaret, religiously, is not a major component of Islam.
On the flipside, the Swiss ban may represent a backlash against the widespread Muslim violation of religious freedom -- even the right to life -- of non-Muslims.
While the world has engaged in the intense condemnation of the Swiss minaret ban as a violation of Muslims’ religious freedom, hundreds, probably thousands, of non-Muslims across the Muslim world have been suffering intimidation and violence, even death, for simply being non-Muslim or trying to observe their religious rituals and rights in the most peaceful and submissive manner.
Over the past weeks, while the Swiss minaret ban hysteria was going on, a 3,000-strong hysterical Muslim mob engaged in rioting in Egypt, attacking Christians and their businesses -- a frequent occurrence. Additionally, Muslim extremists in Uganda attacked a Sunday church congregation, wounding many and damaging the church; Islamic radicals executed a Christian convert in Somalia; a Pakistani Christian had to go into hiding after Islamist demanded his conversion to Islam (or death); a man in Iran faces hanging for apostatizing to Christianity. Most alarmingly, a survey found 59% of Muslims in Turkey, the most secular and tolerant Islamic nation and an aspirant to E.U. membership, opposed open worship by non-Muslims.
Naïve and uneducated observers may find the Swiss ban on minarets a violation of religious rights of Muslims, but in reality, as demonstrated, the Swiss vote is a ban on a symbol of political power, disguised as an innocuous religious icon. It, therefore, does not, technically, violate any religious right of anyone, whatsoever.
Most of all, nations with their skylines riddled with giant and elegant minarets are also the lands of the most extreme violation of religious rights of non-Muslims, a trend which has been worsening fast.
As discussed elsewhere, Islamic minarets did not emerge at the birth of Islam. The Prophet Muhammad, who founded a puritanical and Spartan religious creed, fitting for the underdeveloped and poverty-stricken Bedouin Arab society, would undoubtedly have opposed the erection of sky-piercing elegant minarets; he disapproved of the construction of gorgeous buildings saying: “Truly the most unprofitable thing that eats the wealth of a believer is building,” and “Every expense of the believer will be rewarded except the expense of the building.”
Minarets are, in fact, a Christian icon, first introduced to mosques by the Godless Umayyad rulers a century after the beginning of Islam -- also in spite of strong condemnations by the pious for incorporating a Christian icon into Islamic houses of worship, and for building a structure higher than mosque-walls.
Since then, sky-piercing spear-like minarets gradually became what the renowned Turkish sociologist and nationalist poet, Ziya Gökalp, described in a poem as: “The minarets are our bayonets, the domes our helmets, the mosques our barracks and the faithful our army...” Affirmation of this message by Tayyip Recep Erdogan, the current Islamist Prime Minister of Turkey, in a 1998 public gathering, earned him a short prison-term for inciting religious hatred.
Since then, ‘bayonet-shaped’ minarets started gracing skyline of the centers of Islamic power, conquered by the sword: Cairo, Spain, Damascus, Constantinople, Delhi and more. Since then, wherever Muslim holy warriors went with the aid of swords in pursuance of Jihad for global conquest, the first thing they did was to raise imposing mosques, fitted with elegant minarets, often on the site of destroyed temples or churches, and frequently using remains of the destroyed religious structures.
The Quwat-al-Islam (Might of Islam) Mosque and the Qutb Minaret in Delhi are ideal examples: their construction started in 1192, well ahead of the firm establishment of Islamic power, the Delhi Sultanate, in 1206, and that they were constructed from the remains of many Hindu temples destroyed in the area.
Once mosques with elegant minarets were erected, symbolizing the establishment of Islamic power, these structures became, as Gokalp perfectly described, the “bayonets” and “barracks” of Islam. They became Islamic powerhouses from where ruthless and unflinching Jihad was unleashed against the non-Muslim peoples of surrounding territories, causing untold human suffering, death and destruction. Notably, Islamic Jihad claimed the lives of estimated 270 million people, 60–80 million in India. This would substantiate the thesis of Gokalp/Erdogan and the Swiss voters that Islamic minarets are, fundamentally, a symbol of Islam’s political power. Moreover, it carries a hisotry of extreme violence and oppression.
But, that is history; just ask the pagans (not extant anymore) and Jews of Europe: Churches, with their minarets, were symbols and centers of no less brutality and oppression throughout the Middle Ages. Today, however, churches mostly represent apolitical and spiritual ‘houses of worship;’ secular societies can live with them, fitted with minarets or not, in near-perfect harmony.
Furthermore, non-Christian communities in the lands of churches, as in the West, can exercise their religious freedom with unrestrained liberty, although Muslims have come under increasing suspicion, and even some restrictions, but only in recent years, thanks mostly, if not exclusively, to theMuslims’ own making.
Can the same be said of the lands of Islamic minarets?
Look at Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia and such other Islamic countries, the skylines of whose major cities are adorned with the world’s finest minarets in great numbers.
In Saudi Arabia, the heartland of Islam, one risks a heavy jail-term for carrying a Bible or another non-Islamic religious book, while public display of non-Muslim worship may even cost someone his or her life by beheading.
Even in Islamic countries like Indonesia, Malaysia or Bangladesh -- highly praised in the West for their moderation -- erecting a church, despite its being a completely spiritual place of worship, is next to impossible. In countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, Egypt, and Pakistan, non-Muslim worshippers are subjected to regular harassment, overt violence, and destruction of non-Muslim ways of life, religious places and business establishments.
Muslims are the fastest-growing populations in the West, ten times faster than non-Muslims in the UK, thus, putting European countries on the course to become Muslim-dominated in a few decades to by the turn of this century. Muslims in the West are, on an average, more pious, radical and even violent than their average brethren in Islamic countries.
We have seen over the years how mosques in Western countries have been used for preaching intolerance, violence and even terrorism against the host nations, while Muslims create Islamic ghettos, turning them into no-go zones for non-Muslims in countries such as France, Sweden and Norway, to name a few. Muslim protesters on the streets of Europe even dare to attack and chase away police and security officials.
All indications suggest that in countries of the West, when Muslims would dominate the population in number, the rights of non-Muslims, including religious freedom, would get worse than what non-Muslims enjoy in Islamic countries today. Muslim immigrants are already the major attackers of gays and Jews in Europe. The citizenry of the West, therefore, has valid and rational reasons to be duly alarmed by these developments and prospects, although willfully ignored or shied away by the political elite.
While it is good that liberal papers, like Australia’s The Age, have termed the Swiss decision an "Irrational response to rational anxiety about Islam", and have started calling the Swiss anxiety about Muslims a ‘rational’ one, the Swiss referendum on minarets should also be deemed a well-measured and rational one. From the religious perspective, it is a negligible compromise for Muslims. From the political point of view, in which minarets stand for a political symbol sitting on a history of monumental violence, terror and opporession, the ban is a most legitimate one, given the strictly secular nature of Swiss society; political icons should not be a part of houses of worship.
>>>>>>>>>>>Read rest of the article at Hudson New York website.
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written by Fireball , December 11, 2009
written by odiwala , December 12, 2009
meanwhile read another piece..alqueda claims that it doesnot kill innocent civilians...ha ha ha
http://farjinews.blogspot.com/...ak-al.html
written by duh_swami , December 12, 2009
Off topic...Why do I have to enter the security image number half a dozen times before one works?
written by y.m , December 12, 2009
written by Don , December 12, 2009
written by Don , December 12, 2009
written by LASHKER EEI TOIIBA , December 13, 2009
build temples and other pagan religious places in saudi arabia first.
then talk of minars in swissland.
death to islam.nuke pisslims beofre they nuke us.
written by Tom Billesley , December 13, 2009
written by Tom Billesley , December 13, 2009
written by antimod , December 14, 2009
written by wondering , December 14, 2009
The Muslim's claim that Allah is the God of the Bible and that Islam arose from the religion of the prophets and apostles is refuted by solid, overwhelming archeological evidence. Islam is nothing more than a revival of the ancient Moon-god cult. It has taken the symbols, the rites, the ceremonies, and even the name of its god from the ancient pagan religion of the Moon-god. As such, it is sheer idolatry and must be rejected by all those who follow the Torah and Gospel.
written by Machmoed elchalid , December 14, 2009
This is the case of all abrahamic religions...it's true though. Where is the evidence that Muhammad, jesus, moses, david, salomo etc etc did exist. There is nothing at all. All there is are the stories by others long after the actuall person did exist or the stories are much much older!
written by wondering , December 14, 2009
As for your question, 'Where is the evidence that Muhammad, jesus, moses, david, salomo etc etc did exist.' archeological evidence abounds, all documented by Thousands and thousands of contemporary writings, additionally the Dead Sea Scrolles (over 2 thousand years old) document all of the Phrophets and Pateriarchs with no mention of Meccas Moon God, only the God Of Abraham whose name means,'I am'.
Besides in this day and age it is only the followers of Mecca's Moon God Allah, who are murdering people as fast as they can, using everything from IEDs to Passanger Airliners. Including former members of the Moon God Cult that have found the Love of Christ, who must be murdered according to the Koran, this is really sick. I hope you eventually find the Love of Christ and stop defending this worthless cult.
written by duh_swami , December 14, 2009
Contemporary writings...Beware forgeries, and frauds...Clement made the remark that there were a multitude of gospels in his day...The Church and others burned as many books, manuscripts, as they could get their hands on...The Romans burned the library at Alexandria...The four gospel left overs are what we get...And they can't be completely trusted, except on faith...
The dead sea scrolls were written way before Islam, so of course they did not mention anything about it...They did mention a 'Teacher of Righteous', but this is considered to be two hundred years before Jesus...An interesting book on the subject of life, and religious beliefs, and the rituals at Qumran is, 'Jesus and the Dead Sea Scroll's'...Don't remember the author, but the title is probably listed with Amazon...
written by Machmoed elchalid , December 15, 2009
Who's defending what?
defend islam? didn't you see what i wrote all the time. For me all religions are man-made. It's not about wich religion has the best teachings or whatever, because all religions have some good things . I believe in the god that created us, not in the god wich we created. I'm afraid you're talking about the last one.
written by Machmoed elchalid , December 15, 2009
written by wondering , December 15, 2009
AS for your defence of the 'local customs' that state that Islamic women were inferior to men, I wonder how Mohammads first wife amassed such a large personnel fortune, if this discrimination was so widespread. Her wealth allowed her to first hire Mohammad and then to keep him for 20 years until he had his first visitation in the cave. I believe it would be very difficult for a woman to amass such wealth in an Islamic country today, due to the Shria inheritance Laws, and the fact that women are not encouraged to work outside the home, in some countries they are not allowed out without a male escort, and forbiden to even drive for themselves.
When Islam changes its behavior; stops allowing older men to marry children, stops the opression of women, encourages a broad educational system for both sexes, stops human trafficing, stops its war on Christians and Jews, and allows the freedom for people to objectivelly look at what is actually written in the Koran and Hadeath, without the sword of apositisy literally hanging over their throats, I will gladly discuss how those who follow the political system called the Religion of Islam can join the progress that the rest of the planet seems to be embarked upon.
Local customs aside, please dont tell me what I think, OK.
written by Machmoed elchalid , December 15, 2009
If you knew, you wouldn't have brought it as an argument. Furthermore, don't tell me to find the love of christ....just because you think you have found it. You don't even understand that JHWH is a different God than the God of the new testament. JHWH and Allah have more in common.
Like i told you before: I believe in the God who created us, not in the God we created. I found the love of God when i was just a little boy and it never left me since then. So I already have found myself/God. According to newest research Muhammad didn't exist..so how sure are you are about the misdeeds of the prophet and what you don't want to hear i suppose, Islam arose from a christian sect.
written by Machmoed elchalid , December 15, 2009
The arabs became infected of the same desease abraham and moses had. Women in Arabia (especially the wealthy ones) were not opressed. The opression began with islam...when they borrowed this inferiority of women from the Thora and the arabs believed it was God. Even Aisha mentioned the fact that women were more free before the time of Muhammad. JHWH is JHW from Mydian and this is in fact where the Hidjaaz is, so according to OT JHWH is where Allah is from in Arabia...not jaruzalem or whatever.
written by David , December 19, 2009
Islam is a socio-political organization. and, in every country where islam dominates the government, the counry is poor, full of uneducated people, and usually develops into a caste-society.
here is Afghanistan, there is no question of growing up as a non-muslim, because there is nothing else here. the people are uneducated and poor, and since they cant read all they can do is listen to the mullah, who often is another uneducated putz that knows nothing of the world.
islam does not work as a political society. and, before anyone starts bringing up saudi or dubai as an example of islam, the only reason they are rich is because western nations found the oil and showed it to them, not because of anything they did themselves.
islam is set up to keep the priviledged few on the top, and the rest of the masses below them in poverty. this makes them easy to manipulate, as we see in Afghanistan every single day.
kudos to the Swiss. at least they, of all nations, are starting to show some balls and tell these fanatical moron mozzies that they can shove their sharia BS up their 4th point of contact.
written by Saladin , December 20, 2009
Read what one of their own high officials says while being interviewed
The US involvement in Afghanistan in 1979,
before the Soviet invasion
Editorial note: since i could not find the text of the original interview
(translation shown below), i have appended several independent references
to this same interview that establish the veracity of the claim being made
about US involvement in Afghanistan.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How Carter and Brzezinski Helped Start the Afghan Mess
Interview with Zbigniew Brzezinski
Le Nouvel Observateur (France)
Jan 15-21, 1998, p. 76*
Q: The former director of the CIA, Robert Gates, stated in his memoirs
["From the Shadows"], that American intelligence services began to aid
the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan 6 months before the Soviet intervention.
In this period you were the national security adviser to President Carter.
You therefore played a role in this affair. Is that correct?
Brzezinski: Yes. According to the official version of history, CIA aid to
the Mujahadeen began during 1980, that is to say, after the Soviet army
invaded Afghanistan, 24 Dec 1979. But the reality, secretly guarded until
now, is completely otherwise: Indeed, it was July 3, 1979 that President
Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of The
pro-Soviet regime in Kabul. And that very day, I wrote a note to the
president in which I explained to him that in my opinion this aid was
going to induce a Soviet military intervention.
Q: Despite this risk, you were an advocate of this covert action. But
perhaps you yourself desired this Soviet entry into war and looked to
provoke it?
B: It isn't quite that. We didn't push the Russians to intervene, but we
knowingly increased the probability that they would.
Q: When the Soviets justified their intervention by asserting that they
intended to fight against a secret involvement of the United States in
Afghanistan, people didn't believe them. However, there was a basis of
truth. You don't regret anything today?
B: Regret what? That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the
effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to
regret it? The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote
to President Carter: We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its
Vietnam war..
Q: And neither do you regret having supported the Islamic fundamentalism,
having given arms and advice to future terrorists?
B: What is most important to the history of the world? The Taliban or the
collapse of the Soviet empire? Some stirred-up Moslems or the liberation
of Central Europe and the end of the cold war?
Q: Some stirred-up Moslems? But it has been said and repeated:
fundamentalism represents a world menace today.
B: Nonsense! It is said that the West had a global policy in regard to
Islam. That is stupid. There isn't a global Islam. Look at Islam in a
rational manner and without demagoguery or emotion. It is the leading
religion of the world with 1.5 billion followers. But what is there in
common among Saudi Arabian fundamentalism, moderate Morocco, Pakistan
militarism, Egyptian pro-Western or Central Asian secularism? Nothing more
than what unites the Christian countries.
Consider Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security advisor
to Jimmy Carter. In a 1998 interview he admitted that the
official story that the US gave military aid to the
Afghanistan opposition only after the Soviet invasion in 1979
was a lie. The truth was, he said, that the US began aiding
the Islamic fundamentalist Moujahedeen six months before the
Russians made their move, even though he believed -- and told
this to Carter -- that "this aid was going to induce a Soviet
military intervention". {7}
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Excerpt 3:
Brzezinski brags, blows cover
U.S. intervened in Afghanistan first
By Leslie Feinberg
Why did the United States government spend billions of dollars financing
the overthrow of a progressive regime in Afghanistan?
For years the official line has been that the CIA began funding the
counter-revolution in 1980 only because the Soviet Union had sent its
troops into Afghanistan on Dec. 24, 1979.
A war ensued. It reduced much of Afghanistan to rubble. Finally, the
progressives were overwhelmed, the president was mutilated and hanged on a
public street in the capital city of Kabul, and right-wing fundamentalists
financed by the CIA took over.
The consequences for the population, especially women, have been
horrendous.
Now Zbigniew Brzezinski, who was President Jimmy Carter's national
security advisor, has admitted that covert U.S. intervention began long
before the USSR sent in its troops to help the Afghani Revolution.
Brzezinski told the French weekly Nouvel Observateur that the CIA began
bankrolling counter-revolutionary forces in mid-1979. "We did not push the
Russians into intervening, but we knowingly increased the probability that
they would," said Brzezinski, as quoted by the French Press Agency on Jan.
14, 1998.
"That secret operation was an excellent idea. The effect was to draw the
Russians into the Afghan trap."
You see David,your filthy racsist yankee propaganda can easily be refuted.Typical grunt reading from goebells 101 manuel.
written by The Grand Kaffir of Infidelistan , December 20, 2009
Why don't you get yourself a copy of "The Mitrokhin Archive" volume 2? Written by the former archivist for the KGB who defected in the early 1990's.
He explains from the official KGB archives about Afghanistan, you'll find Jimmy the Peanut Farmer had bugger all to do with it.
written by David , December 21, 2009
you mean to tell me that islam has not been oppressive to people until the US got involved in afghanistan? are you serious? what about the british in WW1? or the russian and british during the 1800s? how about the persian invasions? what about the mongols? or alexander the great?
you are so selective of your BS it is amazing. once again, you have NO IDEA what you are talking about. look- just shut up. stop showing us how stupid you are. you are not impressing anyone. in fact, all you do with your BS is confirm to us that islam is for idiots, the uneducated, and the mentally weak that need to belong to something.
ISLAM IS A FALSE RELIGION. i notice you dont argue that point much at all. you bash the west, slander America, but you offer no proof to the validity of muhammad or the crap he trawled out. know why? because you cant. the koran is a crock of crap.
come on, Salad Head. try throwing back an intellectual argument at me. i am waiting. in the meantime i will continue to end the existence of your muslim brethren that STILL say you are a coward.
written by Jai Babu , December 21, 2009
This concept drilled into the gullible by the ultra-orthodox clerics that Islam is the only way and unquestioned obedience and adherence to the traits of faith is the only way! The objective is to create a pan-islamic brotherhood to keep the flock of faithful under control. Look at the atrocious situation where a muslm from Pakistan is willing to fight the armed forces in Kashmir by joining the LeT! Or an Eygptian willing to kill & maim in the UK for a twisted ideology! They just dont have a midle path!
The open societies dont need lessons in tolerance from the muslim majority coutries which have ben hostile to all other faiths! It is time to counter the belligerance of the muslim UMMAH!
written by Jai Babu , December 22, 2009
written by ima , December 28, 2009
INDONESIA
A thousand Islamic extremists, including women and children, storm a Church near Jakarta
by Mathias Hariyadi
The building was near completion and was to be used for Christmas Mass. Local Catholics are afraid that more attacks could take place during the festive season. Police and local authorities urge Catholics to celebrate the service anyway.
Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Last night a crowd of angry Muslims, including women and children, attacked the Church of Saint Albert, in Bekasi Regency, about 30 kilometres east of Jakarta. The situation is now under control but the local Catholic community is afraid of an escalation before Christmas.
Kurniadi is a member of the committee charged with the church’s construction. He told AsiaNews, “Suddenly, a bunch of bikers arrived in the area where the church stands.” They had banners and kerosene tanks. “We don’t know why we were attacked,” he said.
Kristina Maria Renteana, who was present when the Church was attacked, said, “The mob had about a thousand people,” not only men, but “women and children” as well.
Running around in cars and motorbikes is a tradition for Indonesian Muslims during “national celebrations.”
Last night was the first day of the Islamic New Year, the start of the month of Muharram. Local sources told AsiaNews, on condition of anonymity, that the “crowd was made of people from Tarumajaya and Babelan”, two villages in North Bekasi where Islamic extremists are a majority.
Saint Albert’s Church, a chapel that is part of Saint Arnold’ Church in Bekasi, was not yet finished. Started on 11 May 2008, it had the required building permit for places of worship and was 80 per cent complete. Workers had finished the walls and the roof. Only ceramic floor tiles had to be laid.
Although not yet finished, it was set to host Christmas Mass for the local Christian community.
Now it is damaged but police and government authorities have urged the parish priest, Fr Joseph Jagadwa, to go ahead with the Mass anyway.
SIMB - Surat Izin Mendirikan Bangunan
(Licence For Building's Erection)
The long wait and yearn for building catholic church since 1995 of St. Albertus Harapan Indah Catholic community, has been answered by our Lord. The license to build the church has been issued by Bekasi Authority No. 503/ 0053/ I-B/ Distarkim/ Pem) dated February 06, 2008.
HALLELUJAH!!!
