Turkish State Minister and Chief Negotiator for EU talks Egemen Bagis has urged Muslim nations to withdraw their money from Swiss banks. Bagis' comments came in response to a recently approved ban on the construction of new minarets in Switzerland. ... He suggested that Muslims could deposit their money in Turkish banks instead of Swiss banks.
Bagis' comments came in response to a recently approved ban on the construction of new minarets in Switzerland.
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He suggested that Muslims could deposit their money in Turkish banks instead of Swiss banks.
A Swiss vote to ban new minarets could irk some Muslim investors at a time when Swiss private banks are hoping to replace dwindling growth in European and U.S. assets with fresh funds from emerging markets. Switzerland has traditionally attracted wealth from the Middle East due to its political stability and proximity to the region. French-speaking Geneva has been the main Swiss hub for Arab clients, bankers say, although no there are no official figures available due to Swiss bank secrecy law. Top Swiss bankers and politicians sought to reassure the Muslim community on Monday by saying that the ban on the constructions of new minarets in the country was not a vote against the right to profess the Muslim faith.
Switzerland has traditionally attracted wealth from the Middle East due to its political stability and proximity to the region. French-speaking Geneva has been the main Swiss hub for Arab clients, bankers say, although no there are no official figures available due to Swiss bank secrecy law.
Top Swiss bankers and politicians sought to reassure the Muslim community on Monday by saying that the ban on the constructions of new minarets in the country was not a vote against the right to profess the Muslim faith.
Muslims and human rights groups have expressed outrage at the decision, depicting it as an attack on Islam and a setback for religious freedom. ... "It's an indication that fascist and far-right groups are growing in number and in strength," Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra, Assistant Secretary-General for the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) and an imam for the Muslim community in Leicester told The Media Line. "This should be very worrying for all decent Europeans who wish to see the diversity of our continent continue in order to help our communities be cohesive and peaceful," he said. "The MCB is extremely disappointed that a country in modern-day Europe has such a significant population with such a dislike for diversity, particularly for Islam and for Muslims."
"It's an indication that fascist and far-right groups are growing in number and in strength," Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra, Assistant Secretary-General for the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) and an imam for the Muslim community in Leicester told The Media Line.
"This should be very worrying for all decent Europeans who wish to see the diversity of our continent continue in order to help our communities be cohesive and peaceful," he said. "The MCB is extremely disappointed that a country in modern-day Europe has such a significant population with such a dislike for diversity, particularly for Islam and for Muslims."
the author of nine books, most recently "The Age of American Unreason" and "Alger Hiss And The Battle for History." ... But, alas, much as I would like to blame the Swiss, I suspect that a similar anti-Muslim proposition would have passed in nearly every country in Europe. And I'm not sure that it wouldn't pass if a national vote were taken in the United States -- if it weren't for that pesky Bill of Rights. For that matter, I doubt that the Bill of Rights would pass today if it were put to a popular vote. I certainly don't think that the First Amendment would be ratified by the dumbo legislators whose comments have so edified us during the health care debate. Freedom of speech and of the press--put a Hitler mustache on the text and call it a Nazi document! Or add a hammer-and-sickle and call the First Amendment "socialistic" or "communistic." Anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States--and make no mistake, it is considerable--is, I think, largely a product of fears of Islamist terrorism. In much of Europe there is a deeper dimension, fostered by the unwillingness of formerly homogeneous societies to admit people with different cultural backgrounds to full citizenship. And Muslim communities in some countries (though not, apparently, in Switzerland) have made their own contribution by expressing open contempt for European values and laws, such as those prohibiting domestic violence and discrimination against women, because they conflict with a traditionalist interpretation of Islam.
But, alas, much as I would like to blame the Swiss, I suspect that a similar anti-Muslim proposition would have passed in nearly every country in Europe. And I'm not sure that it wouldn't pass if a national vote were taken in the United States -- if it weren't for that pesky Bill of Rights. For that matter, I doubt that the Bill of Rights would pass today if it were put to a popular vote. I certainly don't think that the First Amendment would be ratified by the dumbo legislators whose comments have so edified us during the health care debate. Freedom of speech and of the press--put a Hitler mustache on the text and call it a Nazi document! Or add a hammer-and-sickle and call the First Amendment "socialistic" or "communistic."
Anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States--and make no mistake, it is considerable--is, I think, largely a product of fears of Islamist terrorism. In much of Europe there is a deeper dimension, fostered by the unwillingness of formerly homogeneous societies to admit people with different cultural backgrounds to full citizenship. And Muslim communities in some countries (though not, apparently, in Switzerland) have made their own contribution by expressing open contempt for European values and laws, such as those prohibiting domestic violence and discrimination against women, because they conflict with a traditionalist interpretation of Islam.
