The Minaret as Political Missile: Infringement of Minority Religious Rights after the Swiss Prohibition of Minarets on Mosques

Abstract:     
On November 29, 2009, the people of Switzerland voted to ban construction of new minarets on Islamic mosques. As Muslim communities face pressure to assimilate or risk alienation from European communities, the vote represents the greater clash between European and Swiss claims of prioritizing nationalism over religious identity, and the protection of minority rights to religious practice and symbolism. The legal arguments buttressing each side of this argument, and which rights prevail - those of the sovereign nation or those of the minority religious group - may very well determine the success of Muslim integration into Western populations, as well as the degree of acceptance and protection that minority populations can expect to receive in the future.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 33

Keywords: Switzerland, Muslim, Minaret, Ban, Swiss, Human Rights, Enforcement, Islam, Construction, Minority, Religion, Rights, Constitution

JEL Classification: K33, J71, J78, K10

working papers series