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Minarets Banned In Switzerland – A Challenge And An Opportunity

Mohib Ahmad — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:30:06 +0000

Minaret Ban Campaign Poster

In a decision with wide-ranging implications, 57.5% of Swiss voters voted in favor of a ban that will constitutionally outlaw building minarets in the country. The support for the proposal was universal with 22 of the 26 Swiss provinces voted in favor of the ban. Switzerland has almost 400,000 Muslims out of a total population of 7.7 million. The vote was preceded by a demonstrably Islamophobic campaign.

One poster showed a veiled woman in black with only her eyes visible and multiple minarets as weapons casting a black shadow on the Swiss flag. Another showed a minaret standing in the river in place of the fallen Lucerne water-hall and the words “Stop Islamization” printed in red. Yet another poster read “No Islamic symbols in Switzerland. Consider a ban on minarets”. The logo from the official website shows a minaret ripping apart the heart of Switzerland.

Minaret Ban Campaign Poster

The minaret controversy started in 2005 when the Turkish Islamic Cultural Center in Wangen bei Olten in north-western Switzerland asked for permission to construct a minaret at their mosque. The local Communal Building and Planning Commission rejected the application but the the Building and Justice Department reversed the decision. Local community members who were opposing the construction then went to the Administrative Court of the Canton of Solothurn where they lost their appeal and the Federal Supreme Court eventually affirmed the ruling of the lower court. The 20 ft (6 m) minaret was erected in July 2009. Consequently the proponents of the ban brought it to vote as Swiss Supreme Court rulings can be overturned by a majority of voters.

As is obvious from the standalone image of the mosque as well as the one with its surroundings, the mosque or the minaret does not appear imposing at all. Also, it is not that Switzerland is being besieged by minarets all over the country. There are just four minarets in Switzerland and only two more were being planned. Moreover, this ban is specifically against minarets and other religions are free from its purview.

The international condemnation of the ban has been swift. Swiss Justice Minister indicated that the higher European court could over-rule the Sunday vote. French Foreign Minister told a radio program that the vote was “an expression of intolerance”. Vatican joined Swiss bishops in condemning the vote and Muslim countries obviously voiced their disapproval. New York Times in a hard hitting editorial termed the ban as “disgraceful”.

Switzerland has had a reputation of being neutral. It is the only country in the western Europe that has not joined EU. It has a unique form of government where voters can not only over-turn Supreme Court rulings but also have the power to decide upon the citizenship applications. In 2008, BBC News highlighted the case of two brothers of Turkish origin who have lived their entire lives in Switzerland but are not able to get Swiss citizenship. The brothers had passed all language tests and the authorities recommended them for citizenship. However, since their application was subject to a final approval by local community members through secret ballots, it had been denied four times. Sometimes it is difficult even for the grandchildren of the immigrants to receive Swiss citizenship.

Right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP), that has seen its influence grow tremendously since 1991, was at the forefront of minaret ban campaign. It has been accused of running racially charged campaigns in the past. The party has been condemned by UN refugee agency for its blatantly anti-immigrant campaigns. This time – as it has done in the past – it exploited the fears of Swiss people. A good example is this blog post (use Google Translate) which is titled “Tolerance rather than ignorance”. The author supported the ban and thinks that building minarets will lead to Islamization of Europe and more intolerance in the society. Clearly the opponents of ban failed to reach out to such Swiss citizens who seem to be misinformed about the whole issue. Tariq Ramadan, who is one of the most influential voice for European Muslims and a Swiss citizen himself, alluded to this failure in an article in Guardian.

Who is to be blamed? I have been repeating for years to Muslim people that they have to be positively visible, active and proactive within their respective western societies. In Switzerland, over the past few months, Muslims have striven to remain hidden in order to avoid a clash. It would have been more useful to create new alliances with all these Swiss organisations and political parties that were clearly against the initiative. Swiss Muslims have their share of responsibility but one must add that the political parties, in Europe as in Switzerland have become cowed, and shy from any courageous policies towards religious and cultural pluralism. It is as if the populists set the tone and the rest follow. They fail to assert that Islam is by now a Swiss and a European religion and that Muslim citizens are largely “integrated”. That we face common challenges, such as unemployment, poverty and violence – challenges we must face together. We cannot blame the populists alone – it is a wider failure, a lack of courage, a terrible and narrow-minded lack of trust in their new Muslim citizens. [Tariq Ramadan]

Minarets are not a requirement for mosques but Muslims are and successful communities are built not upon symbols but individuals. Muslims should use this opportunity to build alliances, reach out to local communities and proactively participate in civic activities in addition to performing their religious duties. The issue at stake here goes way beyond minarets. It is the trust deficit that seems to have built up between Muslims and others in parts of Europe. Only by addressing the fears that led to the passing of this odious ban can there be a meaningful resolution of this issue. These fears have to be addressed even though they might be unjustified. Especially if they are unjustified. Otherwise it is going to be one battle to another.

Remembering 26/11

Mohib Ahmad — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:28:26 +0000

One year.

It is easy to be cynical on the first anniversary of Mumbai terror attacks. UPA government was voted back to power in elections where 26/11 wasn’t even a major issue. The non-performing Congress-NCP alliance won Maharashtra third time in a row. Vilas Rao Deshmukh – then chief minister of Maharashtra – is back as a Union minister. RR Patil – that “small incident” guy – is back as the home minister of the state. Sainiks – though nowhere in sight during the 60 hour ordeal – are often on streets terrorizing fellow citizens. As if Shiv Sena was not bad enough we have MNS to contend with now.

Two of the three accused on trial for the attacks were in police custody before the attacks and intelligence agencies had some prior information about the impending attacks. However there was a communication breakdown between various agencies and even though it is hard to say if the attacks could have avoided – certainly some lives could have been saved. The Headley-Rana connection wasn’t probed even after the attacks until the duo was arrested by American authorities. We don’t know if things are run any differently now.

9/11 led to a high-powered bipartisan commission that assiduously probed the circumstances surrounding the attacks. 26/11 led to the Ram Pradhan committee report just to investigate the “police response”. The report became a political punching bag and its contents are still unknown. The top brass of Mumbai police is busy fighting among themselves publicly. So are our MPs. And the truth – it seems – will never come out on 26/11.

Meanwhile South Mumbai didn’t come out to vote this time either. In related news, it rained again in Mumbai during monsoons and the roads got clogged.

And our media still hyperventilates.

But then there are reasons to be hopeful too.

India didn’t forget. 26/11 was not reduced to just another terror attack in the country. The main objectives of the attacks – to sow communal discord among Indians – failed. To force India or Israel to re-evaluate their relationship by killing Jewish hostages failed too. Last I checked Shashi Tharoor was at Nariman House for an international commemoration of the event.

The response of the Indian government was resolute and for the first time Pakistan was forced to recognize the identities of the terrorists and the fact that the attacks were planned from its territory. Yesterday the Pakistani government indicted Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi and 6 others for the attacks. Ajmal Kasab is being tried in an Indian court and his arrest along with decayed bodies of his 9 accomplices – without promised bodily scents or halo – would serve a grim reminder to youths looking for a shortcut to heaven.

National Investigation Agency has been formed and P Chidambaram has replaced the ineffectual Shivraj Patil as the home minister. By keeping up the diplomatic pressure on Pakistan India has successfully managed to prevent any major attack for a year. This allowed the Indian government to focus its efforts on tackling the Maoist terrorism in vast swathes of the countryside. In 2008 alone over 900 people were killed by Maoist terrorists.

Steps have been taken to better respond to such attacks. Force 1 has been constituted in Mumbai whose teams can deploy anywhere in the city within 20 minutes. NSG has now deployed its Special Response Units in the major cities of India. Sophisticated arms and equipments are being procured and better monitoring capabilities incorporated. There seems to be a certain realization within the establishment that we can’t fight a 21st century menace with 20th century mindset.

The relationship between India and United States has grown stronger with the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, being invited as the first state guest of the Obama administration. The joint statement released during the visit has terrorism as it major plank and calls the Indo-US partnership “indispensable for global peace and security”. India has finally managed to get rid of the hyphenation between itself and Pakistan. The new coinage – AfPak – obviously didn’t needed one. The words of condemnation from the international community for terrorism in India are no longer accompanied with calls to resolve disputes with Pakistan.

***

A government is as good and as responsible as its citizens. MJ Akbar recently wrote, “The politician will only be as resolute as the citizen, and our sensitivities have been dulled by a culture of complacence.” If we want a more secure India – we have to be a part of it. Our response to terrorism can’t be piecemeal. We need to fix the system. If we uncover some unsavory truths along the way – let it be. But never again.

Recommended

Baffling Supreme Court Judgment On Beards

Mohib Ahmad — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 08:59:25 +0000

In Mohammad Salim versus Nirmala Convent Higher Secondary School, a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice R V Raveendran decided that the plaintiff has to abide by the rules and regulations of educational institutions especially if it is a minority institution. The judgment, while correct in its spirit, is debatable in its implications. Private educational institutions do have a right to make their own rules and regulations but if it results into an infringement upon their fundamental right to freedom of religion of students then it is borderline unconstitutional.

In India such issues are being decided on a case by case basis and judgments are hampered by few legal precedence and fewer constructive debates. The comments made by the other judge on the bench, Justice Markandey Katju, have already vitiated the atmosphere for the latter to happen in India. In particular his comments about beards/burqa and equating those Islamic symbols with Talibanisation are hurtful and more of a reflection upon himself than on either the Indian society or the Taliban terrorists.

While dismissing the plea of defendant, Justice Katju remarked, “We don’t want to have Talibans in the country. Tomorrow a girl student may come and say that she wants to wear a burqa. Can we allow it,” and “I am secularist. We should strike a balance between rights and personal beliefs. We cannot overstretch secularism.” [The Hindu]

While it is true that the Taliban are bigoted, murderous thugs that force Muslim men to grow beard and Muslim women to wear burqa apart from committing other brutalities, those symbols in themselves do not constitute a support of the Taliban ideology when adopted voluntarily. By analogizing wearing burqa or growing beard with Taliban, Justice Katju has played into the hands of Taliban terrorists who want to portray themselves as the only true Muslims. He has made it difficult for regular Muslims wearing burqa or sporting beards now as it carries the taint of support of Taliban. It will allow Taliban and similar such terrorist groups to further misappropriate the religion of Islam as those opposing them can’t do it without first removing their beards or burqas. It will severely dent the argument that many of us have been making that extremist Taliban ideology can only be defeated by traditionalist Islamic thought but Justice Katju apparently sees no difference between a bearded cleric opposing Taliban and the Taliban themselves. How are the Deobandi ulema supposed to counter the ideological misrepresentations of Islam by Taliban terrorists when they themselves are being likened to them just because of some facial hairs?

Justice Katju also needs not to be reminded that it is not just the bearded Taliban fighters who could be terrorists but a clean-shaven western educated person could act in a similar fashion. The 21 terrorists who stuck on 9/11 or the 10 who terrorized Mumbai on 26/11 were not necessarily Justice Katju’s personification of how a terrorist should look like. Did Amir Ajmal Kasab wore a beard? Did Afzal Guru when he attacked the Parliament?

Justice Katju’s comments about burqa are equally baffling. Does he not know that a majority of Muslim women who wear burqa do so at their own volition? And by doing so they are just trying to follow modesty taught by their religion and not making a veiled statement in support of the Taliban. How different is Justice Katju’s assessment then from the ABVP goons who forcibly took burqas off Muslim students in Karnataka early March?

Mohammad Salim’s case was further weakened by his counsel arguing that keeping beard was an indispensable part of his client’s religion when he himself, as a Muslim, didn’t sport a beard. However the august court does not need to be reminded that it is not for them to decide what constitutes religion for an individual and what does not. Another court a few months back denied permission to two IAF officers to grow beard as it is not allowed in the armed forces. But Sikh armed force officers are allowed to keep beards as in court’s opinion keeping beard is an integral part of Sikhism. Keeping beard is part of Islam as well and it is up to a Muslim to make that choice form himself. The courts can’t decide what is required of Muslims and what is not as it can’t decide who is a Sikh and who is not. A recent report by Washington Post claims that less than 25% of Sikhs under 30 wear turbans even though it is an integral part of their belief. What happens when an un-bearded, un-turbanded or un-long-hair Sikh decides to seek admission to a Sikh minority institute? Should he be denied admission under Sikh quota because he is in violation of his religious beliefs? A similar case happened in 1998 when one Yadwinder Singh sued Dashmesh Institute of Research and Dental Sciences in Faridkot when it refused admission to him based upon his cut hair. A court in Punjab ordered the institute to pay Rs 7 Lakh as damages to the complainant Yadwinder Singh.

Prima facie it appears that Justice Katju and the bench over-reached their jurisdiction and some of the comments made by the bench went way beyond the scope of the case. What is good for Sikhs is good for Muslims and other religious denominations as well. At the very minimum if Mohammad Salim’s Sikh classmates are sporting beards as part of their religious traditions then he should be allowed to do the same on that basis. A healthy debate on private institutions right to set rules and regulations is needed. At the same time the courts can’t litigate religion from the bench.

Photo: Bearded Muslim

India Votes: Varun Gandhi’s Anti-Muslim Remarks In Pilibhit

Mohib Ahmad — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 04:03:44 +0000

BJP’s candidate for the Pilibhit constituency in Uttar Pradesh, Varun Gandhi have been making hateful and dangerous remarks on the campaign trail. Worse, instead of condemning the utterances, Tarun Vijay, head of BJP’s think-tank defended the remarks as being borne out of innocence and fear under which the local Hindus live in. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, BJP vice-president went a step further and blamed his remarks on Congress!

BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said: “Varun Gandhi’s comments are a clear manifestation of the culture he learnt from the Congress. The words used by him clearly shows his past Congress connection”.

In an election meet Mr Gandhi targeted Muslims by shouting “This is not a hand (Congress symbol), it is the power of the lotus (BJP symbol). It will cut the head of… Jai Shri Ram,” his attack directed towards Muslims. At another meeting, the PTI report said, he said: “If anyone raises a finger towards Hindus or if someone thinks that Hindus are weak and leaderless, if someone thinks that these leaders lick our boots for votes, if anyone raises a finger towards Hindus, then I swear on Gita that I will cut that hand.”

Mr Gandhi’s dangerous utterances and the subsequent denial-cum-defense by BJP has once again made the secular-minded Indians suspicious of its agenda. BJP would do well to cancel Mr Gandhi’s candidature from the Pilibhit constituency and nominate someone who, if elected, will fight for all the citizens of Pilibhit not just the Hindus.

India Votes: Congress’s Jai Ho Campaign

Mohib Ahmad — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 10:11:23 +0000

Indian National Congress (INC) finally launched the widely anticipated election campaign based on Jai Ho song from the hit Oscar winning movie Slumdog Millionaire.

Using A.R. Rahman’s Oscar-winning song ‘Jai Ho’ as its clarion call, the Congress has come out with three 60-second films that seek to show the party leading its multitudes to progress. From its 2004 slogan of ‘Congress ka haath, aam aadmi ke saath,’ the party has moved on to ‘Aam aadmi ke badte kadam; har kadam par bharat buland.’ Loosely translated, it would mean the common man marches ahead and every step he takes makes India stronger. Unveiling a part of the campaign that is already being aired on radio and television, chairman of the party’s publicity committee Digvijay Singh sought to draw a distinction between the Congress publicity campaign and the 2004 India Shining showcase of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

“The difference between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party is that we have been consistently working for the socio-economic development of the common man.” Refusing to subscribe to the view that the ‘Jai Ho’ campaign was a toned down version of ‘India Shining,’ he said: “We are only realistically portraying what is happening.” [Join Congress]

Watch the three 60 second spots:

Leaders

Chandrayan

Schemes

India Votes: Poll: Will Third Front Be Successful?

Mohib Ahmad — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 05:47:45 +0000

With Ms Mayawati hosting the Left Front leaders and other regional satraps for a dinner in New Delhi on Sunday, the so-called Third Front is starting to take shape. The leaders have decided to work upon a vision document and are trying to actively woo parties outside the NDA and UPA fold, particularly the Biju Janata Dal (BJD).

So far the only common factor that is bringing these parties together is their strong anti-BJP and anti-Congress stand. However, will that be enough?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Happy Holi Everyone!

Mohib Ahmad — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 08:38:06 +0000

Wishing a happy Holi to all the readers. Above a painting circa 1635 AD of Mughal Emperor Jahangir celebrating the festival of Holi.

Also read a post by Yusuf Saeed on Holi’s Muslim History from last year. And enjoy it with a beautiful poem that places the Prophet in a very distinct Indian cultural mileu. It has been amazingly well rendered by Abida Parveen in the album Raqs-e-Bismil compiled by Muzaffar Ali.

horii hoye rahii hai Ahmad jiyaa ke dvaar
horii hoye rahii hai Ahmad jiyaa ke dvaar
Hajrat Ali kaa rang banaa hai Hasan Hussain khilaaR
horii hoye rahii hai Ahmad jiyaa ke dvaar

(horii : holi; Ahmad : another name of Prophet Muhammad; Ali : Cousin and son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad; Hasan : elder son of Hazrat Ali; Hussain : younger son of Hazrat Ali and the martyr of the battle of Karbala)

aiso horii kii dhuum machii hai
aiso horii ki dhuum machii hai
chahuuN or paRii hai pukaar
aiso anokho chatur khilaaRii
aiso anokho chatur khilaaRii
rang diiNyo sansaar

(chahuuN or : in every direction; anokho : unique; chatur : smart)

“Niaz” piyaraa bhar bhar chhiRke
“Niaz” piyaraa bhar bhar chhiRke
ek kii rang sahas pichkaar

(piyaraa : bowl; sahas : thousand)

horii hoye rahii hai Ahmad jiyaa ke dvaar
horii hoye rahii hai Ahmad jiyaa ke dvaar

Lyrics: Hazrat Shah Niaz
Singer: Abida Parveen
Album: Raqs-e-Bismil

Finally a poll:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Photo: Holi Painting

New Theme, Some Changes

Mohib Ahmad — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 07:35:53 +0000

As you might have noticed we have changed the website theme. We have also dropped the blog from the name as it was getting increasingly redundant as we expand the scope of the website.

The new theme is a work in progress and we will continue adding features to it to make browsing and commenting easy and fun for the readers. Following are some of the important changes that go into effect:

Registration For Comments

One of the distinct features of our website is the large number of comments that add immense value to the original post. However lately comment moderation is becoming more of an issue. Most of the comments violating the comment policy come from folks using random email IDs. Also without registration anyone can use any name to post comment sometimes leading to confusion. By registering and using a specific login for posting comments, one can secure a particular identity. Commenters will therefore be required to be registered in order to be able to post a comment. Please use this link to register. Also comments on posts after 30 days will be closed as discussions become repetitive after a while.

Subscription Feed

Since most of the articles we post here are pretty long and as we are increasing the frequency of articles posted everyday, the daily email digest will become too long. Therefore we will start offering article summary instead of the complete feed. We are sorry to those readers who use Google Reader and other feed aggregators for truncated feeds. We’ll try to find out a solution wherein full feed could be offered for readers using feed aggregators. If you have not yet subscribed to Indian Muslims, we strongly encourage you to do so at subscribe.

Article Submissions

We have actively pursued a policy of giving space to diverse set of voices on issues to get a better perspective. If you are interested in writing for Indian Muslims, feel free to to drop us a line at editor@indianmuslims.in. Alternatively you can use the contact form. We invite articles on topical issues as well as responses to other articles posted at the website. Over the next couple of months we will be covering India Elections 2009 extensively.

We would love to hear back from you. If there are any features you would like to see at the website, please post a comment at this post.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Congrats Slumdog Millionaire!

Mohib Ahmad — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:59:17 +0000

Congratulations Slumdog Millionaire!

In one of the best performances by a movie ever, Slumdog Millionaire won a whopping 8 Oscar awards out of the 10 categories it was nominated in. AR Rahman won the first individual Oscar by any India in the Best Original Score category. He also won the Best Original Song award with Gulzar for the song Jai Ho. Resul Pookutty won the award in the Sound Mixing category along with Ian Tapp and Richard Pryke. Danny Boyle won the prestigious Best Director award for Slumdog. The icing on the cake was the Best Movie award.

All Awards Won By Slumdog Millionaire

Best Movie – Slumdog Millionaire
Best Director – Danny Boyle
Best Original Score – AR Rahman
Best Original Song – AR Rahman
Best Sound Mixing – Resul Pookutty, Ian Tapp and Richard Pryke
Best Film Editing – Chris Dickens
Best Cinematography – Anthony Dod Mantle
Best Adapted Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy

Simon Beaufoy, Danny Boyler et al were generous in his praise of Mumbai and India. Resul Pookutty talked about India, Mumbai and Om. AR Rahman thanked everyone and said that everyone has a choice to choose between love and hate an he chose love.

Congratulations to everyone who made the movie and appreciated it, and of course, the great city of Mumbai . Bole to jhakkas!

Indian Muslims Blog – Best Of 2008

Mohib Ahmad — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 02:23:23 +0000

Dear Readers,

We were hoping to compile a list of some of the selected posts from 2008 into a nice pdf document as we did last year but due to time constraints we have not been able to do so. However here is a list nevertheless. Thank you for reading.