Minarets

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted as saying "Values such as tolerance, dialogue, and respecting others' religions should never be put to a referendum," he also warned of "the consequences of anti-Islamic acts."
-- Khaleej Times

At first such a statement coming from Iran seems hilarious, but when examined more closely one can be assured that the statement is heartfelt and honest, for in Iran such values would never be put to a referendum, they would be put before a council of mujtahid, or male Islamic scholars, what we in the west know as a sharia council.

One need look no further than the case of Hamid Pourmand, an Iranian Assyrian Christian imprisoned under the laws of the "tolerant" Islamic Republic of Iran to understand the perspective of the Iranian government on religious tolerance.

To those of us raised under the principles of western democracy and tolerance the Swiss action appears abhorrent, but one must look more closely at the hue and cry raised by Muslims around the world when it comes to the actions of Swiss voters. How can the firmest advocates of a ban on Christian churches in their entirety in Saudi Arabia voice outrage over a ban of minarets on mosques in Switzerland?

You would most likely hear not a peep from Islam had the Swiss banned the construction of any additional steeples on churches within its lands, more likely the action would be hailed as tolerant and understanding gesture of tolerance and acceptance towards Switzerland's Islamic minority. Their issue is not freedom and tolerance but the advancement of Islam and their outcry should be recognized as such, had voters in Albania or Kosovo chosen to ban churches would they be kicking up such a fuss?

The West needs to approach this debate as an internal matter, is the Swiss ban internally consistent with our values, while ignoring the outcry from the Muslim world. We should not give value to the hypocritical voices of Islamic governments feigning outrage at religious discrimination. The debate is not about whether or not the ban is discriminatory against Muslims, but whether or not the ban is consistent with our values of freedom, tolerance and expression.

The Swiss ban on minarets is a perfect example for those of us enamored with the concept of direct democracy on why the founding fathers intentionally chose to avoid it. So you have to ask yourself, taking the Islam/Muslim aspect out of question... should the Swiss have banned the construction of minarets?