Switzerland is facing international criticism and charges of intolerance after the Alpine country voted by a clear majority a referendum banning construction of minarets on mosques, which right-wing parties regard as symbols of militant Islam.
The United Nations joined expressions of dismay after Sunday's vote and warned that the vote restricted religious freedom and violated Switzerland's international treaty obligations.
Asma Jahangir, the world body's special investigator on religious freedom, said the ban marked "clear discrimination" against Switzerland's Muslim minority community and urged the government to take necessary measures to fully protect their religious freedom.
"As also stated by the United Nations Human Rights Committee a month ago, such a ban is contrary to Switzerland's obligations under international human rights law," she said in a statement released by the world body.
The Vatican said the Swiss vote oppressed religious freedom, even as the government moved to assure Muslims it was not a rejection of their religion.
Criticisms also came from across the Muslim world with Pakistani religious groups condemning it as "extreme Islamophobia."
Religious leaders in Indonesia, the world's biggest Muslim-majority country, castigated the referendum as a manifestation of religious "hatred" but urged a restrained response.
"This is the hatred of Swiss people against Muslim communities," said Maskuri Abdillah, head of the 40-million-member Nahdlatul Ulama. "They don't want to see a Muslim presence in their country and this intense dislike has made them intolerant."
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), called the ban an "example of growing anti-Islamic incitement in Europe by the extremist, anti-immigrant, xenophobic, racist, scare-mongering ultra-right politicians who reign over common sense, wisdom and universal values."
The move was also largely condemned elsewhere in Europe with its top human-rights watchdog saying possible violation of fundamental liberties arising from the Swiss ban on minarets could see the heavily-criticized vote overturned.
The Council of Europe (CoE) said the issue raised concerns of whether "fundamental rights of individuals, protected by international treaties, should be subject to popular votes."
In a statement Thorbjorn Jagland, CoE's Secretary-General, suggested that a case may be made to seek a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights condemning Switzerland for violating freedom of expression, freedom of religion and prohibition of discrimination.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) warned the vote had the potential "to create tensions and generate a climate of intolerance against Muslims."
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose country holds the European Union presidency, called the vote "an expression of quite a bit of prejudice and may be even fear" and "a negative signal in every way".
His French counterpart Bernard Kouchner condemned the vote saying he was "scandalized" by the vote which he said amounted to "oppressing a religion"--though his own country is considering a ban on burqa, the all-encompassing garments traditionally worn by Muslim women.
Asserting that it was an expression of intolerance, he told France's RTL radio that he detested intolerance and hoped that the Swiss would reverse the decision rather quickly.
Youssef Ibram, the imam of Switzerland's biggest mosque in Geneva, sharply criticized the authorities for not intervening more forcefully in defence of religious freedom before the referendum got off the ground. However he called on the Muslim world to "respect, without accepting" the outcome and to avoid cutting off ties with Switzerland.
The Swiss People's Party (SVP) had forced a referendum on the issue after it collected 100,000 signatures within 18 months from eligible voters. The ban was supported by a majority of 57.5%, 20 percentage points more than predicted in opinion polls in the run-up to the vote.
The result, in a country that has only four mosques with minarets and no major problems with Islamist militancy, has taken the Swiss establishment by surprise, which was bracing itself for a backlash in the Middle East.
"The Federal Council (the body that constitutes the federal government) respects this decision," said a government statement Sunday night after the vote. "The construction of new minarets in Switzerland is no longer permitted."
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, the Swiss Justice Minister, said the ban contradicted the European Convention on Human Rights, apparently referring to the 1950 treaty outlining the basic rights of member states. However, he said the ban would come into force immediately, but did not rule out the possibility that the court could strike down the vote.
Earlier, he termed the campaign to ban minarets as a "proxy war" for provoking conflict between ethnic Swiss and Muslim immigrants. The seven-member Cabinet that heads the Swiss government had also spoken out strongly against the initiative.
Muslims constitute about five per cent of the 7.5 million population in Switzerland, where freedom of worship is one of the cornerstones of its founding constitution. The 400,000-strong Muslim population form the third-largest religious group after the dominant Roman Catholic and Protestant communities.
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