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A Swiss referendum that banned the construction of mosque minarets prompted criticism from the French foreign minister to a senior Egyptian cleric and Pakistan's religious groups.
"I hope the Swiss come back on this decision," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in an interview with RTL radio today, adding that he was "shocked" by the result. "You have to ask who is the target, and if the target is sort of moderate Muslims that we always say that we want, then it's really an error."
In Switzerland, people gathered after the official result of the referendum announced to protest the ban. The group carried candles and was angry that Switzerland had approved a vote to ban minarets.
They first read about the demonstration on a website and decided to join. And as the night got colder, the numbers got bigger, They all denounced the surprise result while the police kept a watchful eye.
Egypt's Mufti slams Swiss vote on minarets
The Grand Mufti of Egypt, Ali Gomaa, slammed the vote in Switzerland to disallow the building of minarets as an 'insult' to all Muslims, media reported Monday.
In a statement carried by Egypt's MENA news agency, Gomaa said the vote in favor of the initiative in the Alpine land was an 'attack' on the freedom of religion.
The mufti encouraged Swiss Muslims to use legal means to protest and to engage in a dialogue within their society.
Swiss minaret ban 'extreme Islamophobia'
Pakistani religious groups also on Monday condemned a referendum in Switzerland that saw voters approve a ban on the construction of mosque minarets, calling it 'extreme Islamophobia.'
'This development reflects extreme Islamophobia among people in the West,' said Khurshid Ahmad, vice president of Jamaat-e-Islami, a Islamic political party that is represented in Pakistan's parliament.
'This also represents very serious discrimination against Muslims.' Pakistan is the world's second most populous Muslim nation.
Ahmad described the Swiss decision as a serious violation of human rights and international law, telling AFP: 'This is an effort to provoke Muslims and prompt a clash between Islam and the West.'
Yahya Mujahid, a spokesman for Islamic charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa also decried the referendum as a blow for inter-faith harmony. 'This new decision violates the principles of mutual understanding and religious tolerance,' Mujahid said.
'The West never takes respite in claiming to be champions of religious tolerance and inter-faith harmony, but this latest decision shows their bias against Muslims,' he added.
Far-right politicians across Europe celebrated the results, while the Swiss government sought to assure the Muslim minority that a ban on minarets was 'not a rejection of the Muslim community, religion or culture.'
Having won a majority on turnout of 53 per cent, the initiative will now be inscribed in the country's constitution.
The Swiss government will now introduce article 72, paragraph three into the Swiss constitution, banning the construction of minarets.
Opposition parties are talking of a challenge in the European Court of Human Rights. What was meant to be a short debate on the future of Islam, now has the potential to become a long-running open sore.
PHOTO CAPTION
A man writes slogans on a symbolic minaret erected to protest against the results of a vote in Switzerland at the Place Neuve square in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, Nov. 30, 2009.
Agencies
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