the Swiss political establishment can be expected to try to find a way to overturn the referendum, possibly by taking a page from the EU playbook, and forcing another referendum until Swiss voters produce the “correct” answer.
In any case, critics say the decision to ban minarets will have little practical effect in the sense that it does not prohibit the construction of new mosques. Nor does it require that existing minarets be torn down. Moreover, the new measure does nothing to improve the integration of Muslims into Swiss society, which lies at the heart of the problem.
But supporters say that is not the point. They say the SVP’s main achievement has really been to draw the public’s attention to the limits of European multiculturalism, especially amid a growing perception that Islam poses a threat to traditional Swiss identity. Indeed, Swiss voters across the political spectrum seem to agree that Muslim immigrants need to be much better assimilated and socially integrated.
In the final analysis, however, the anti-minaret referendum may end up having its greatest impact outside of Switzerland, as conservatives in other European countries will now be emboldened to more forcefully question previously sacrosanct policies on Muslim immigration. If this happens, the Swiss vote will turn out to be the first salvo in a long overdue debate about the role of Islam in Europe.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan once implied that the construction of mosques and minarets is part of a strategy for the Islamization of Europe. The pro-Islamist Erdogan said: “The minarets are our bayonets, the domes our helmets, the mosques our barracks and the faithful our army.” ...and now here is the West's response. We take him very seriously.
