Well I am not for the banning of minarets on the grand scale. This should have been decided on local councils regarding zoning laws. This was a veiled excuse for Switzerland to show the rest of the world again that they are right wing. Again, i am not a huge fan of minarets, not because they can’t be cool, but rather that alot of them are made to look really arabic and it really clashes with the local decor. As a dutchman, I am a stickler for asthetics and I would prefer if they maintained an appearance that would match the local style. Build a minaret, but use local bricks and metals so they look like they belong.
BTW, minarets pose no religious value. They have the same purpose as those giant McDonalds signs next to highways. To tell peoeple where the mosque (or mickydees) is. The only other purpose is for a member of the mosque to sing the call to prayer, which is not a necessary function for Islam, but rather it was taken from a story in the Sunnah, when a member of Mohammad’s mosque sang the call to prayer and Mohammad liked it. Otherwise it is not necessary at all.
In a nation with shopping malls and parking lots as standard architectural theme, drive through restaurants, banks, and churches, texting while driving epidemic, two insane wars(based on attacking Islam), we’re really the ones to comment on this?
@dtroutma: Of the 5 comments besides yours that I see so far, at least 2 are NOT from the country you imply should not be commenting on the discriminatory Swiss referendum (1 Dutchman, 1 citing a Swiss commentator). [btw, I share your objections to US culture & policies, so that’s not my point.] And the political cartoon which started this thread in the 1st place is from an Austrian paper, not U.S. Let’s not even start on whether AUSTIRIAN history leaves room to criticize a right wing move. The point is, its not the U.S. (or even the Austrian, Dutch or Swiss) government commenting here; it’s private citizens. So, yes, I think we have the right not only to comment, but to criticize Switzerland’s intolerance (as well as crass U.S. popular culture & questionable govt. decisions).
The Swiss people had to do something to slow down the torrent of muslim immigration into their nation. Can we blame them for worrying about terrorist groups forming among the newcomers? I don’t think so. You might not like what the vote says about the people of Switzerland, but I suspect that most European natives feel the same way about their huge islamic immigrant populations.
If you read the op-ed piece by Georgie Anne Geyer on this subject, you’d understand better my point of view.
OmqR-IV.0 over 14 years ago
:)
parkersinthehouse over 14 years ago
fundamentalists
plural
an s on the end
fundamentalists artists columnists
a.c.d over 14 years ago
Well I am not for the banning of minarets on the grand scale. This should have been decided on local councils regarding zoning laws. This was a veiled excuse for Switzerland to show the rest of the world again that they are right wing. Again, i am not a huge fan of minarets, not because they can’t be cool, but rather that alot of them are made to look really arabic and it really clashes with the local decor. As a dutchman, I am a stickler for asthetics and I would prefer if they maintained an appearance that would match the local style. Build a minaret, but use local bricks and metals so they look like they belong. BTW, minarets pose no religious value. They have the same purpose as those giant McDonalds signs next to highways. To tell peoeple where the mosque (or mickydees) is. The only other purpose is for a member of the mosque to sing the call to prayer, which is not a necessary function for Islam, but rather it was taken from a story in the Sunnah, when a member of Mohammad’s mosque sang the call to prayer and Mohammad liked it. Otherwise it is not necessary at all.
Dtroutma over 14 years ago
In a nation with shopping malls and parking lots as standard architectural theme, drive through restaurants, banks, and churches, texting while driving epidemic, two insane wars(based on attacking Islam), we’re really the ones to comment on this?
lupinssupins over 14 years ago
@dtroutma: Of the 5 comments besides yours that I see so far, at least 2 are NOT from the country you imply should not be commenting on the discriminatory Swiss referendum (1 Dutchman, 1 citing a Swiss commentator). [btw, I share your objections to US culture & policies, so that’s not my point.] And the political cartoon which started this thread in the 1st place is from an Austrian paper, not U.S. Let’s not even start on whether AUSTIRIAN history leaves room to criticize a right wing move. The point is, its not the U.S. (or even the Austrian, Dutch or Swiss) government commenting here; it’s private citizens. So, yes, I think we have the right not only to comment, but to criticize Switzerland’s intolerance (as well as crass U.S. popular culture & questionable govt. decisions).
TrulyBluely876 over 14 years ago
The Swiss people had to do something to slow down the torrent of muslim immigration into their nation. Can we blame them for worrying about terrorist groups forming among the newcomers? I don’t think so. You might not like what the vote says about the people of Switzerland, but I suspect that most European natives feel the same way about their huge islamic immigrant populations.
If you read the op-ed piece by Georgie Anne Geyer on this subject, you’d understand better my point of view.