Yes, he was also the prosecutor of Ticino that courageously fought organized crime in relation to the Mafia.

Now, even Al Qaeda is trying to change their tune.

Al Qaeda offers 'condolences' for innocent victims


But they should know that PR is not merely words, but actions as well.

-Herr Abu Phos




Of course I'm right.

He is an elected official to the council of states (senate) since 95.

This may be totally politically incorrect to say, but Al Qaeda are such sickos it is easy to see why they stir up so much hatred.

To Litlle to Late

Agreed.
Agreed.

Phos, perhaps the onus for action and not words should be on the Country as a whole - if you're willing to concede there are Swiss Muslims - and not on Muslims alone to prove they contribute to society and live benignly. Muslims here don't cause problems for their community, yet now they have to start justifying they're not here to agitate and proactively raise their visibility? I don't like the path that line of discussion is going at all.

What ever happened to live and let live? I understood that Swiss culture promotes respect for the law and tolerance of each other's right to a peaceful life. Asking a minority to prove themselves as friendly, patriotic and community minded is anathema to fairness. What would suffice? An open letter? 20 hours a month volunteering? Street BBQs?

If someone abides by the law and pays their taxes, that's enough for me.

Religion-based parties ? Out of the large parties, only the CVP is religion based as it is the successor the old KK (Katholisch-Konservative Partei), and out of the smaller parties, only the EVP (Evangelische Volks-Partei) is religion based. All the others are not religion based.

State-religion ? While some Cantons regard the dominant denomination as a kind of state-religion, the union does not. And even in the "religious" Cantons, you can write a letter to the Church and declaring that you now have left their Church and declare "religionslos" on the tax-forms and then you no longer are paying for churches and priests. So that legally, neither unions nor cantons nor municipalities have "state religion".

Which is far less than I feared there were. I mean in view of the about 250 to 300 mosques countrywide it is only 5%

"Official religion" is NOT state religion. And this difference is not just words, it is in constitutions and words and quite important. And to use the correct expressions would be Roman Catholic and Reformed/Reformiert or Evangelic/Evangelisch or Protestant/Protestantisch. You may now say that Greeks etc are Greek Orthodox but then you forget the Greek Catholics (Orthodox in liturgy but linked to the Roman Catholics in Syria, Lebanon and Egypt (mainly Damietta, Alexandria and Cairo).

While I am not a lawyer and possibly may be wrong, I regard what is said in mosques, churches, synagogues etc as "public" as the congregation present is not limited to "members" . The legal problem of course may be what material is allowed in court. But to make recordings for information purposes is not illegal if you are present in person. I however do not believe that any federal service in such things would be in charge, but that it clearly is a matter for the Cantonal police forces. And the Cantonal Police of Zurich has a number of interpreters for Albanian, Bosnian, Turkish and Arabic, who happen to be Muslim by majority. So that some "problems" mentioned simply are irrelevent.

Bad comparison. Would all add-ons to houses in case of Jewish ownership be banned, it might be regarded as a human-rights issue. Would all add-ons to houses owned by people with his family-name be banned, it would be discrimination and most likely illegal.

In regard to your story it has to be added that the neighbours not only did not like but apparently had the right arguments to convince the Gemeinde. According to law, you cannot block the erection of such an add-on simply by declaring not to like it. You only can succeed if there are factual reasons in favour of your opposition. .................. If he feels, the decision was against law, he can go into appeal and re-appeal up to federal level, with the next instance being the Bezirks-Gericht, and thereafter the Cantonal Appeals Court, and finally a Federal Court .

He became Senator (Ständerat) in 1995. He was elected and re-elected exactly on the basis of his well known views (He had been Regierungsrats-Präsident = Prime Minister of the Canton of Ticino before). He does not need the backing of "the Swiss Confederation" for such statements, as it is his free right to do so. Legislators are NOT employees of the union, but rather the employers. And his constituency clearly supports his views all throughout.

Two aspects are to be kept in mind. A) Many or even a majority of the Iranian expats are Secularists rather at odds with the Mullahcracy back home B) Quite many of them are quite wealthy or even very wealthy, so that it is a bit special if compared with most other communities.

I'm not suggesting they are required to do anything, only that there is a surge of public opinion that is not in their favor. The suspicions are widespread. It seems to be brought on by their separating and distancing themselves from the society at large. Some of the preachers are calling for active engagement, which points out that they see the problem. It is merely a positive suggestion for their own benefit on how to integrate within the society of their host country.

The Imams you mention are not in front but behind the majority. The majority of Muslims in Switzerland does not separate and distance themselves from the rest of society.

There is no "surge" of public opinion not in the favour of Muslims. There WAS such a surge in late 2001. And the suspicions you mention were fueled by things in Madrid and London and Sharm-el-Sheikh. Many Imams, presumably even a majority of them, already for years have had quite useful relations with Catholic and Protestant priests.

I read this and replaced 'them' or 'Muslims' with 'Expat Bankers' / 'Train Spotters' / 'Disabled kids' and still believe Swiss public opinion is wrong to pick on minority members of their own communities by tarring each member of that minority with the same brush.

(Then again, Sins of the Father morality is alive and well here, as anyone who's inherited a family members debts will attest, so maybe this is nothing to be surprised by.)

I agree now is the time to up the PR but the (Swiss Muslim) bearded man on the street can't be held responsible for what others suspect of him due to his Faith, nor should he have to carry a letter of introduction from the Mayor to prove he's not a suspicious character. The political rhetoric is all hunky dory for the white guys in posh suits who dream up such divisive initiatives such as the minaret construction ban, but it's Jonny Islam who takes the crap on a daily level, through no fault of his own.

We, as a nation - and I include those who can not vote - have a responsibility to make society a better place. The "culturally wrong" element is when we start to shift the burden of proof onto the innocent.

Fair enough OM,the SVP loves you for this ,but the referendum has Proven "It is not enough"

I suppose that follows the innocent until proven guilty line. Obviously not all Muslims are guilty by association, because they are from very different sects. It would be like blaming all Christians for the extreme Mormon sects. It points to a general lack of understanding.

I do think that religious leaders have a duty to allay any fears that the general Swiss public may have by promoting the positive aspects and raising the image of their members. The problem is that many of them are afraid, they do not want to become more visible because they do not want to cause waves. So it is the duty of the Swiss public to create a society where law abiding citizens have nothing to fear. At present wearing a headscarf is not against the law, by castigating those that wear it, the Swiss are erecting unnecessary barriers to integration.

Whether we like it or not immigrants of all classes are in Switzerland because something was not working for them as well as they would like. So the immigrants motivation ot stay in Switzerland is clear. What has not been made clear is the motivation for the Swiss to accept immigrants.
Why should Switzerland accept immigrants- what is in it for the ordinary Swiss?

True but still as a volunteer teacher I am always amazed at how well the Iranian kids do. The parents really push them academically but also interact with the community by volunteering (which is key if you want to be accepted in the US). I don't want to generalize but it is less true of other groups.