This Land Is Whose Land?

What’s your reaction to Sunday’s decision by voters in Switzerland to ban construction of minarets, the slender towers from which Muslims are called to daily prayer?

The Swiss People’s Party (SVP)—in an attempt to prevent Islamic extremism in Switzerland—has itself used distorted and extremist approaches in order to advance its own anti-immigration agenda.

According to Swiss law, citizens have the right to propose a new law simply by gathering 100,000 names on a petition. The right-wing SVP, the largest party in Switzerland, has exercised this right and succeeded in winning the votes to ban construction of new minarets throughout Switzerland.

Proponents of this law claim that the construction of new minarets could inflame extremism and lead to rapid “Islamization” of the country; advocates back up their argument by pointing out that 70 percent of inmates in Swiss jails are foreign-born. In one fell swoop, the Swiss People’s Party has made the Muslim faith inseparable from extremism and criminal behavior.

The Swiss People’s Party is known for its racially-driven marketing campaigns; the poster campaign promoting the construction ban intentionally depicted the minarets as missile-like structures—effectively “inflaming” fear of extremist acts and anti-Muslim sentiments among Swiss citizens. In 2007, another poster pictured three white sheep standing on a Swiss flag kicking out a black sheep. With these strategies, the SVA is playing on a tendency of many Swiss to equate Islam and extremism (and by extension, terrorism) in order to fan the flames of xenophobia—using the political system to advance its anti-immigration agenda.

Interestingly enough, when a law was originally proposed to limit immigration, it failed to pass. The Swiss People’s Party then used similar tactics to attempt to prevent Muslims from practicing one of the pillars of their faith—daily prayer. Also interesting is the fact that, in a poll conducted before the voting began, a majority of respondents (53 percent) claimed they would not vote for banning the minarets, yet when all was said and done, the ban did pass (with 57 percent voting for it). Could it be that Swiss voters did not want to publicly admit to private racist attitudes they knew were inherently wrong?

This situation (although not as complex) is reminiscent of the conflict in Israel between Zionists and Palestinians. In their efforts to remove all non-Jews from Israel, Zionists have denied Palestinians the right to live freely in Israel and have consciously fostered a misperception around the world of all Arabs as terrorists. In shutting out those who are other, the Swiss—like the Zionists—are attempting to separate and exclude Muslims from the human family. But, by discriminating against Muslims, the Swiss are separating themselves from the human family. As people living in a multi-cultural world, they fail to see that difference brings mutual enrichment for humanity, as well as a chance for dialogue and unity.

Eighty-two percent of the Swiss population claims to be Christian. Yet, as Christians, they have forgotten that we all are born as children created in the image of God, equally blessed, equally heirs to God’s love and promise. As Christians, they have failed to see that every human—regardless of faith, race, gender, ethnicity, or national heritage—reveals God’s presence to us. And as Christians, they have turned away from the very thing Christ stood for—compassion, love of neighbor, and the sanctity of every human life.