Comments on: Switzerland Bans Minarets

By: Islam Means peace

Islam Means peace — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 02:22:00 +0000

Muslims are taught to follow the rules & regulation of the country they live in as long as they are allowed to perform their religious duties. for your info, minarets are not really big deal – it is a religious symbol of course but more pratical to call out people to prayer. The first mosque built by prophet Mohammed didn’t have any minaret. It was later added for its functional purpose. By the same token, the dome was not invented by the muslims but was a borrowed structural form for its congregational practicality. By the way, tolerance towards other religions is also prescribed by islam to its followers – if they are the true followers.

By: Islam Means Peace

Islam Means Peace — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 02:13:00 +0000

You missed out one important part – it was and still a historical fact that Islam was flourishing in all aspects of life…be it politics, science, art etc when the whole of europe was in the ‘Dark Ages’ ! That was until the muslim became complacent and forgot to follow the holy book and went ‘secular’ which does not even come close to providing solution in all aspects of life. For your info, muslims are never taught to be offensive to other religions or other forms of life for that matter. Hatred is cancerous and will only bring misery to yourself, but to gain knowledge through reading and understanding is the best solution in your regard.

By: Atheists and Islam, Part IV. | An American Atheist

Atheists and Islam, Part IV. | An American Atheist — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 20:49:31 +0000

[...] question. What I found was mostly reassuring – at The Friendly Atheist, for example, Hemant Mehta came down clearly on the side of opposing the minaret ban in Switzerland as a violation of religious freedom, and of [...]

By: Weekly News and Blog Roundup | The Skeptic: Blog

Weekly News and Blog Roundup | The Skeptic: Blog — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:40:58 +0000

[...] these towers are used to house large, cartoon-rocket-shaped missiles. Friendly Atheist has posted a level-headed article on the subject, in which Hemant Mehta argues that “while we fight for our right to have freedom [...]

By: Where to start?

Where to start? — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 08:49:41 +0000

Let me be clear: Islam is undoubtedly the most dangerous religion in the world, and we’d all be better off if it vanished from the face of the earth. The Qur’an is a nasty book, and the many Muslims who take it seriously have no place in a civilized society.

That being said, many if not most Muslims ignore the nastiest parts of the Qur’an, and thus manage to get along quite well in secular, Western democracies. To punish them for the crimes of their fellows is pretty much the definition of bigotry.

By: haggis

haggis — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:19:49 +0000

Has anyone of you thought that this is a great opportunity for the Muslim community to show that they can live together with others? By publicly announcing that they accept the law they show that they don’t support fundamentalism and are ready to co-operate against it. It would probably decrease the fears that other Europeans have for Muslims and maybe stop the growth of intolerant movements.

It would be bad to reverse the law now since reversing it would just increase bitterness and intolerance towards Muslims.

By: Polly

Polly — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:56:01 +0000

Deleted

By: Brian Macker

Brian Macker — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:22:37 +0000

I don’t know how harmless minarets are, if they were mere decoration it wouldn’t be a problem, however they are used to call people to meetings where they are indoctrinated to believe in the persecution and subjugation of others.

By: Monkey's Uncle

Monkey's Uncle — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:16:18 +0000

IIRC, minarets are for calling people to prayer, so they would have someone on top singing or some kind of PA system to broadcast incantations and some such…between that and church bells, Hare Krishnas and the church of scientology shouting about free personality tests on the streets, where does it all stop?
I can’t believe that atheists on this blog, including unfortunately Mr Mehta, pulls out the misguided canard of ‘Islamophobia’ to all in pursuit of a little common sense. That is a word bandied about far too much and misused frequently. It is not fear of Islam that would make me vote ‘no’ against the building of these minarets, it is the desire to help stop even more widespread religious following. A lame argument it may be, but have you considered what would happen to you if you tried to open an Atheists meeting hall in Saudi Arabia, with a PA declaring to all in loud tones of your godlessness?
I live in london, and I revel in this cities’ multiculturalism, that being said lots of sensible britons want a little less of bowing to any more religious sects trying to impose their choice of lifestyle on everybody else..although if we object we are labelled ‘racist’ or ‘Islamophobic’. If a vote was carried out here I would vote no, just as I would vote no to more churches, synagogues, mosques etc.
That does not make me ‘racist’ or intolerent, I am just fed up with not hearing rational voices in this sort of debate. If not agreeing to everyone’s religious demands makes me an UNfriendly atheist, than I am afraid that is what I am.

By: eh

eh — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:26:24 +0000

Do you live in Switzerland? Or any European country with a significant muslim population? You have to be pretty naive to believe this was just about minarets, or “Islamaphobia”. I’m sure the Swiss voted for the ban because they see the on-the-ground reality of muslim immigration every day: disproportionate criminality, and academic and economic underachievement. In other words, muslims form an ethnically distinct underclass in Switzerland, exactly as they do in every other European country where there’s a significant population. (The US has its own experience with that kind of social pathology, right?) The Swiss see this in their own country, and they know it is even worse in other European countries, e.g. France. And they don’t want it to get worse in their country. So they grasped at this straw and voted to ban minarets, when most of them would really like to do a lot more, e.g. stop muslim immigration altogether. Try to imagine the shitstorm that would unleash.