A group of Muslim immigrants wants to
force Switzerland to abandon the current flag - a white cross on the red
background. They say that it violates the rights of the representatives
of non-Christian confessions. They seem to have been hurt by the recent
ban on minarets construction. However, their proposal is unlikely to be
welcomed by the native Swiss and will only increase the number of votes
in favor of the treasury of the local far-right People's Party.
The first suggestion to remove the
cross from the Swiss flag was made not by a Muslim, but (judging by the
name) an ethnic Croat and Catholic vice-president of the association of
immigrants Secondos Plus Ivica Petrushich. "The cross does not fit
today's multicultural Switzerland," he said. The organization of the
Turkish, Albanian and other immigrants from Muslim countries followed
with a similar initiative. Instead, they suggested using a
green-yellow-red flag of Helvetic Republic that existed at the turn of
the 18th-19th centuries. It has no cross on it.
It is hardly coincidental that the issue
of replacing the flag was raised by the representatives of immigrant
organizations. Today, over 20 percent of seven million-strong Swiss
population is immigrants. Naturally, the Muslims will be more than
others insistent on replacing the flag. There are nearly 400,000 of them
(more than five percent of the population). The largest "ethnic Muslim"
community is Albanian, followed by the Turkish one. Arabs and Bosnian
Muslims also reside in Switzerland. Many of them certainly do not like
the cross.
The vast majority of Swiss Muslims
virtually broke off with the religion of their ancestors. No more than
50 thousand of the faithful pray five times a day. However, women in
headscarves have become an integral part of the cityscape of Zurich or
Geneva. Furthermore, the birthrate in religious Muslim families is much
higher than among the other population. Finally, all Swiss followers of
Islam are not natives, but immigrants and their descendants. Their
support of changing the appearance of the flag is, to say the least,
ambiguous.
Apparently, this circumstance was taken
into account by the head of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in
Switzerland Mayzar Hisham, who called the idea of changing the flag
"counterproductive." He said that they did not demand anyone to change
the ancient traditions of their countries. It is hard not to agree with
his words. The relations of the indigenous Swiss and immigrants have
already passed a difficult strength test. The desire to change the flag
will only add fuel to the fire.
Two years ago the Muslim community
wanted to attach minarets to the existing mosques. However, Switzerland
is different from all other countries in a way that each more or less
relevant issue is solved by holding a referendum. Negotiations with the
government officials were not sufficient, and they had to ask the
opinion of the population. This opinion was not in favor of the Muslim
immigrants.
The initiator of the referendum two
years ago was the ultra-right Swiss People's Party that called to stop
the "creeping Islamization". A deputy of the Swiss Parliament Ulrich
Shlyuer said that minarets were a political symbol of the implementation
of Islam. Step by step, Sharia was conquering Switzerland, acting in
parallel with the Swiss law. Statistics show that the degree of
religiosity of the local Muslim population is exaggerated, but for the
ordinary Swiss even a hint of a violation of their habitual way of
living was sufficient.
The results of voting on November 29,
2009 shocked Europe. 57.5 percent of the Swiss population was in favor
of a ban on construction of minarets. At the same time kosher and halal
slaughter of animals was banned (because of cruelty). Islamic
organizations, human rights activists, and many European politicians
expressed their outrage. However, the law came into force. The EU could
not influence Switzerland as it is not its member.
Many of those
dissatisfied with the verdict (including indigenous Europeans who had
departed from the religion) were eager for revenge, and eventually
decided to strike from the other side. They inquired why the flag of the
Swiss Confederation had a Christian cross on it if construction of
minarets was banned. Allegedly, it violated the rights of not only
Muslims but also non-believers. That is why the red-green-yellow flag of
the Helvetic Republic would be better.
Would the majority of the Swiss agree
with this point of view?
Unlike neighboring France and Germany, the
Swiss society is rather conservative. While there is no case of absolute
religiousness of the Swiss society, the number of believers in
Switzerland is higher than in the neighboring countries. This can be
partially explained by a high proportion of rural population scattered
along numerous mountain valleys in 20 cantons and six half-cantons of
the country. Approximately half of the indigenous Swiss are Catholics; a
little fewer are Protestant Calvinists. The cross on the flag is
something that unites the country, and does not divide it.
As for the flag, the current symbol was
first used in Switzerland in 1339, when the union of separate cantons
just started to take shape. It achieved its official status in 1848,
when the last standoff on this land ended, crowned with a robust Swiss
Confederation. To some extent, it is a symbol of freedom and peace, a
path to which took many centuries and numerous wars.
The Helvetic
Republic, whose flag is offered instead of the current one, is not
particularly respected by the Swiss. It was created by Napoleon who
occupied the country and decided to build entities supervised by the
French on its territory. For the free-spirited Swiss this flag is a
symbol of oppression.
Not to mention the fact that the
combination of green, red and yellow colors is characteristic mainly of
African countries. In Europe, only Lithuania has a similar flag.
Do
the immigrants have a right to teach the Swiss tolerance? For over 160
years there has been no bloodshed on this territory. This is all the
more surprising considering that the country is multinational. Nearly
three-quarters of the indigenous Swiss speak German, one-fifth speaks
French, five or six percent speak Italian, and a little less than one
percent - the Romansh language. All these languages have the official
status, but there is one dominant language group in each canton (with
rare exceptions). They managed to combine small mono-national "houses"
with a multinational one. The country is not threated by a collapse.
Encroaching on the foundation of the state, immigrants cause a reaction
from the German Swiss, French Swiss and Italian Swiss.
Ultra People's Party is gaining
popularity among all of them. Its symbol is three white sheep (the
number of the top three language groups), kicking the fourth, black one.
This is a clear hint to what should be done with immigrants. Four years
ago, the party secured 29 percent of the Swiss votes, and it was a
shock to Europe. In the parliamentary elections scheduled for October
23, the result may be even higher.
As is evident from the story with the
restrictions on ritual slaughter of animals and minarets construction,
the Swiss are not afraid to challenge the infamous political
correctness. A ban on wearing the veil is to follow. The more you
attempt to encroach on the foundation of the Swiss state, the stronger
will be the response. It took Switzerland and its people too long to
achieve stability and peace of mind to just give up on their values.
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