Sunday, November 29, 2009

Swiss Minarets


How well thought out this banishment is.

While we're at it, let's ban church spires, funny statues on top of Hindu temples and Chinese style rooves.

I now nominate Switzerland as the Malaysia of Europe (I previously said somewhere that Malaysia is the Homer Simpson of countries).

The Swiss are afraid of Muslims. Too often I encounter a similar sentiment here. It's utterly depressing.

Let me try to describe a scene that is ingrained in my mind since my last trip to Indonesia. Be warned it is very terrifying.

I found myself in a small village / community in part of Jakarta where the original Jakartans live - the Betawi.

The fun fair is in full swing. It's a very small amateurish affair that's pitched on a small communal patch of land, nevertheless the local village kids are having a great time playing the quaint games.

The smallest kids are learning how to 'fish' at a tiny blow up rubber pool. Using magnetic hooks to fish the small colourful plastic toy fish up. A parent or two is on hand to help them out if they need help but soon they're merrily fishing away.

Shivering in your boots?

The Swiss tell us more about the Swiss than anyone else after this ban on minarets. Shameful.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Swiss saps. Couldn't believe it. I heard about it on From Our Own Correspondent. Didn't think it was an actual real story, thought it was just a little quirky, off beat, "some people are awful" thing that was just so ridiculous they stuck it in to have a bit of a laugh at.

I was so annoyed that I brought it up in class today. We were talking about the Swiss "tolerance" for other languages, they have French, German and Italian, but no fights, unlike the Belgians.

Pity they aren't tolerant when it comes to other people.

Especially considering Islam has been an element of Swiss life for many, many years with Eastern European Muslims.

RIDICULOUS.

I feel sorry for all the normal Swiss people who feel ashamed about what their country has done.

Unknown said...

word

Meutia Ananda said...

interesting writings. Are u a journalist? thanks for visiting my blog, John.

Anonymous said...

Haven't been here for quite some time. Think I lost the address when moved my blog. Now just added you to my link so won't forget again :)

I don't know if you know this, but there's an article in The Weekend Australian Magazine called "Switzerland Says To Islam: Thus Far and No Further" written by Melanie Phillips, who says things like:

"The problem is that while many such Muslims sign up to democracy, human rights and the separation of religion and state, the Islamists who dominate the Muslim world are pushing the agenda of Islamising the west. And the minaret is a symbol of that aggression".

"For a while it [The West] is having a fit of the vaporous over the so-called threat to religious freedom represented by the minaret ban, it is silent over the fact that in Islamic states such as Saudi Arabia there is no freedom of worships, no churches are allowed to be built at all and apostates from Islam are punished by death".

And at the last sentence which annoyed me the most, she says:

"It is possible that the Swiss vote will now give courage to other European countries to stop the march of political Islam - ..."

Gosh. I don't think she knows Indonesia - the biggest muslim country in the world - exists.

Unknown said...

ah yes, melanie phillips sounds like a lot of commentators in the US - they feel that the more aggressive the sound the more important the things are they are saying.

makes me want to puke!