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Op-Ed
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by Tawfik Hamid www.tawfikhamid.com Last Sunday Swiss voters supported a referendum proposal to ban the building of minarets. Official results show more than 57% of voters and 22 out of 26 cantons - or provinces - voted in favor of the ban. Building Minarets was seen by many as a sign of Islamisation of their free country. The government opposed the ban, saying it would harm Switzerland's image, particularly in the Muslim world. Several points must be raised in relation to this issue: 1- Can Muslims blame the Swiss people for being afraid of Islamisation in their country? No, especially while the entire world sees the inhumane applications of Islamic Law (Sharia) wherever it is implemented? It should not be unexpected that the Swiss people would not want a system that even today practices discrimination against women, gays, and minorities in the name of religion. The vivid images of stoning women and hanging gays in the Muslim world should make any sane individual inclined not to allow such an intolerant system to grow in his or her country under the banner of freedom of religion. 2- The Swiss people who rejected building Minarets may be sending a message that their tolerance did not change the Muslim world. For several decades Muslims have been allowed to build Mosques in Europe, wear their religious symbols such as the Hijab, and preach Islam to Non Muslims. Despite such high levels of tolerance towards Muslims in the West, Non Muslims are not permitted to practice similar rights in several parts of the Muslim world. Preaching Christianity is criminalized in a number of Muslim countries. Furthermore, Non Muslims are not permitted to have their holy books or to build their religious temples is many Sharia controlled areas. This lack of reciprocity of the Western tolerance will naturally make many Westerners feel that showing tolerance to Muslims is not effective. 3- It seems strange that Muslims would insist on building Minarets for Mosques in Switzerland while thousands of Mosques already exist inside the Muslim world without Minarets. The Minarets are seen by many as representation of superiority of Islam, especially when their level is higher than the Churches' level; this sheds some light on the hidden intentions of Muslims who insisted on building Minarets in the heart of Europe. It is important that Muslims in Switzerland explain why they insist on using such historical symbols of Muslim superiority when it is neither mentioned in the Quran nor considered vital to building a mosque. 4- It seems too hypocritical that Muslims demand building Minarets in Europe yet many Non Muslims in the Muslims world are denied their basic and fundamental religious right to build churches, or even carry their holy book with them. The more important problem for Muslims in Switzerland to address is the Muslim world not giving basic religious rights to its Non Muslim minorities, not building these unneeded Minarets. |
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 The time has come to define Radical Islam. Please ask your local mosque, Islamic Shool, and Islamic organization to clearly, unambiguously and publically denounce the following concepts: Apostates killing Beating women and stoning them to death for adultery. Calling Jews pigs and monkeys. Declaring war on Non Muslims to spread Islam after offering Non Muslims three options - subjugate to Islam, pay Jizia (a humiliating tax), or be killed. Enslavement of Other Human Beings. Fighting and killing Jews before the "End of Days". Gay Discrimination and Hostility. A true moderate person or organization must be able to immediately denounce the above concepts and stand publicly and unambiguously against them.
The Muslim world can not expect the world to consider Islam peaceful as long as they teach and promote such tenets.
A clear stand is needed from leading Islamic Scholars all over the world against such teachings.
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| Op-Eds by Dr. Hamid |
| An op-ed, is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board. For links to some of Dr. Hamid articles, please click on the article name to be forwarded to the external page:
2. New York Daily News:
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