AI condemns Islamophobic Swiss vote

Amnesty International has expressed deep regret over the Swiss voters' approval of a ban on minarets, calling it a violation of religious freedom for Muslims.

"The 'yes' vote comes as a surprise and a great disappointment," David Diaz-Jogeix, Amnesty International's deputy program director for Europe and Central Asia, said on Monday.

"That Switzerland, a country with a long tradition of religious tolerance and the provision of refuge to the persecuted, should have accepted such a grotesquely discriminatory proposal is shocking indeed," Diaz stressed.

He also added that the ban violates the right of Muslims to manifest their religion in Switzerland, and is incompatible with the international conventions signed by the European country.

Sunday's referendum followed a controversial campaign against the symbolic architectural feature of Islamic mosques, spearheaded by far-right Swiss politicians, the Swiss People's Party (SVP).

The SVP's campaign posters depicted a Swiss flag sprouting black, missile-shaped minarets alongside a woman shrouded in a head-to-toe veil.

The poster, which was condemned worldwide for inciting hatred towards Islam, plays on fears that Muslim immigration will lead to an erosion of Swiss values.

Though the government opposed the ban, 57 percent of voters and 22 out of 26 cantons (or provinces) voted in favor of it, meaning minarets can no longer be erected anywhere in Switzerland.

The ban is expected to be rejected by either the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland or the European Court of Human Rights.

Islam is the second largest religion in Switzerland after Christianity, and its followers represent over 4 per cent of the country's population.

Of 150 mosques or prayer rooms in Switzerland, only 4 have minarets, and only 2 more minarets are planned.

None broadcast the call to prayer.