Main focus of Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Democratically against religious freedom

The minaret ban in Switzerland has drawn fierce criticism from all over Europe. For their part certain right-wing demagogues have welcomed the outcome of the vote. In light of these developments the European media discuss religious freedom, referendums and Europe's relationship with Islam.

De Volkskrant - Netherlands

The Swiss vote against the construction of new minarets is a "triumph of fear", but Switzerland is not an absolute exception in Europe, the left-liberal daily De Volkskrant writes: "It would be wrong to play down the Swiss referendum as the deviant vote of an electorate that has already proved to be oversensitive about potential violations of its cultural unity in the past. Despite its tradition of setting itself apart politically, Switzerland is only to a certain point a special case. One can't say for sure that a similar referendum in another European country wouldn't have stood a chance. There are other countries where a majority of the population is having great trouble accepting the rapid rise and the conspicuous presence of another religion which stands in conflict with some forms of expression of the secular, individualistic lifestyle that has developed in the West. In this context the minaret functions as a symbol for everything that is wrong with Islam in the eyes of many Europeans." (01/12/2009)

» full article (external link, Dutch)
More from the press review on the subject » Integration, » Minorities, » Switzerland, » Europe

Politiken - Denmark

The Swiss ban on minarets is not really about militant Islamists as the right-wing parties claim, but about religious freedom and tolerance, the daily Politiken writes: "With the constitutional ban on minarets in Switzerland and the immediate declarations of support for similar measures in the Netherlands and Denmark made by [Dutch right-wing populist] Geert Wilders and [the leader of the right-wing populist Danish People's Party] Pia Kjærsgaard, the final boundary has been crossed. These political forces want to abolish religious freedom in Europe. They want to break with a value that is central to Europe's Enlightenment tradition. Whether we like it or not we are confronted with a political trend that is totalitarian in its consequences and undermines the free society it allegedly wants to protect against 'dangerous' minorities at its core. … Europe is becoming the home of intolerance and religious persecution." (01/12/2009)

» full article (external link, Danish)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Religion, » Minorities, » Denmark, » Switzerland, » Europe

Upsala Nya Tidning - Sweden

Referendums are problematic because they involve voting on highly complex questions demanding expert knowledge, writes the daily Upsala Nya Tidning with an eye to the Swiss ban on minarets: "Certainly, there are questions that can be decided by referendum. But the problem with direct democracy in the form of binding referendums is the complexity of the questions, which often demand detailed expert knowledge on the constitution and international conventions. It's for a good reason that we elect our representatives through democratic votes. ... In Sweden we can count ourselves lucky that we have no binding referendums that can amend the constitution." (01/12/2009)

» full article (external link, Swedish)
More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Minorities, » Sweden, » Switzerland

Le Temps - Switzerland

In the wake of the Swiss vote against the construction of new minarets the daily Le Temps questions the validity of referendums as an instrument of direct democracy: "How is it that the great virtue of Swiss democracy - political rule through frequent plebiscites - has been abused by the base desires of solitary individuals? It became clear in Switzerland last Sunday that intelligent people have lost control and demagogues have won the day. Direct democracy has always been meant as a civic counterbalance to the official power transferred to the country's representatives and the state. But it was never meant to become a dustbin for emotions where the first person with a little money, cunning and a knack for persuasion can rouse the people to place fetters on themselves." (01/12/2009)

» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Switzerland, » Europe
All available articles from » Joëlle Kuntz

» To the complete press review of Tuesday, December 1, 2009