minarets

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Syria Fighting Destroys 12th-Century Minaret

Both sides trade blame over shelling of mosque in Aleppo

(Newser) - An ancient minaret at a mosque in Syria has been reduced to a pile of rubble, reports AP . Insurgents are blaming the government, and the government is blaming insurgents, but either way the minaret of the 12-century Umayyad Mosque is history. The mosque is located in Aleppo's Old City,...

Dozens Killed in Morocco Minaret Collapse

At least 38 dead after 400-year-old structure falls

(Newser) - At least 38 people were killed when the minaret of a 400-year-old mosque in Morocco collapsed during Friday prayers yesterday. Officials say heavy rain weakened the structure in the historic city of Meknes. Over 70 people were injured in the collapse and the rescue operation has been slowed by the...

Sarkozy to Muslims: Be Discreet

French president sympathizes with Swiss in minaret ban

(Newser) - People of all faiths, but especially Muslims, must “refrain from ostentation and practice their religion in humble discretion,” Nicolas Sarkozy opined today, sympathizing with the Swiss voters who approved a minaret ban last week. In a column in Le Monde, the French president warned Muslims that doing anything...

Minaret Ban Shoves Swiss Hard to the Right

Surprise vote shows anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim sentiment on the rise

(Newser) - The right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) got a surprising shot in the arm with Sunday’s vote to ban minarets in the country. Though it’s been growing rapidly since its 1980s inception, the SVP has had little success in referenda until now, with critics accusing it of racism...

Swiss Projected to Approve Minaret Ban

Nationalist measure reflects rising anti-Muslim sentiment

(Newser) - Swiss voters approved a move to ban the construction of minarets in a vote today on a right-wing initiative that labeled the mosque towers as symbols of militant Islam, early projections showed. The Swiss looked to have swung from only 37% supporting the proposal a week ago to 59% in...

Swiss to Vote on Minaret Ban

Referendum this month sparks fear of Muslim backlash

(Newser) - Swiss government and business leaders are having a panic attack over a referendum that would ban minarets on mosques—and, they fear, make the country a target for Islamic terrorism. The handiwork of the anti-immigrant Swiss People's Party, infamous for an earlier campaign poster showing a white sheep kicking a...

Swiss Group Fights Against Islam's Minarets

(Newser) - A debate on freedom of religion featuring ultra-nationalist zealots is playing out in the most unlikely of places: a sleepy hamlet in Switzerland. A group is trying to block the construction of a 30-foot tall minaret on a mosque in Langenthal (pop. 14,000) because it's a symbol of Islam's...

Tolerant Swiss to Ban Minarets?
Tolerant Swiss to Ban Minarets?
May 28, 2007 9:57 PM CDT

Tolerant Swiss to Ban Minarets?

(Newser) - The Swiss have gone NIMBY (not in my back yard) on minarets.  While Switzerland's constitution guarantees freedom of religion, a number of leading politicians want to ban them via a referendum this fall.  There are now exactly two minarets in all of Switzerland.

8 Stories