One flew over the cuckoos nest
In Switzerland, you know the place with cuckoo clocks and cheese with holes in, a somewhat strange political issue has come to surface. The Swiss being a somewhat peculiar lot, this might not strike you as odd. But this is about minarets. Some wants to ban them.
You are probably aware that a minaret is the Muslim equivalent of a bell tower. In stead of bells calling the worshippers to prayer the minaret is used by the muezzin to call out the adhan, calling the faithful to prayer. These days high tech has made its way even to the Mosque, and the muezzin is spared the ardous task of climbing the minaret. He instead does his calling via a microphone and loudspeaker from the comfort of the prayer room. Five times a day.
As a staunch non-believer in anything metaphysic this calling to worship and prayer is the same to me. It is noise. Unwanted noise. It does not matter the persuasion of the callers. Be they Christians or Muslims, Buddhists or Hindi. They make noise.
I do however believe in the freedom of thought. Even those thoughts I strongly disagree with. And since I realize that silencing the bells of the Christian churches would be a violation of their right to worship, the same goes for Muslims and anyone else of course. So I endure the noise.
The Swiss opposition against minaret building argues that they are a symbol of "Islamisation" and has no place in the "Swiss democracy". Yeah right! Remember that "democracy" in Switzerland is strictly limited to "Schweitzerbürger" and that to become one you have to have a well filled purse. And since 22% of the population are "Ausländers" and not included in the "democracy" their "democracy" might not be all that democratic? Did anyone say "bigots"?
As for "Islamisation" of the western society this only means that the world is getting smaller. People are for various reasons becoming more mobile, and they bring their culture and beliefs with them when they move. There is nothing wrong in that. The fear is irrational and rooted in the fear of the unknown. Walk into a Mosque or a Church and you will be welcomed as a friend. Get to know your neighbour. You might even learn something of value.
If they could just keep the noise down. A solution for both Christians and Muslims would be to take the technical revolution one step further. These days everyone has a mobile phone. Text messaging services could be used to remind the worshippers to come to prayer, and the need for bell towers and minarets would seize to exist. And it would have been totally voluntary! Subscribe to the service, you get the reminder. You could even subscribe to several services. Just to be on the safe side in your superstition.
The Swizz would need no ban on particular architectonical structures, and the rest of us would have been spared the incessant chiming and calling.
Have a nice weekend, and may your God go with you!
I prefer to walk alone.
You are probably aware that a minaret is the Muslim equivalent of a bell tower. In stead of bells calling the worshippers to prayer the minaret is used by the muezzin to call out the adhan, calling the faithful to prayer. These days high tech has made its way even to the Mosque, and the muezzin is spared the ardous task of climbing the minaret. He instead does his calling via a microphone and loudspeaker from the comfort of the prayer room. Five times a day.
As a staunch non-believer in anything metaphysic this calling to worship and prayer is the same to me. It is noise. Unwanted noise. It does not matter the persuasion of the callers. Be they Christians or Muslims, Buddhists or Hindi. They make noise.
I do however believe in the freedom of thought. Even those thoughts I strongly disagree with. And since I realize that silencing the bells of the Christian churches would be a violation of their right to worship, the same goes for Muslims and anyone else of course. So I endure the noise.
The Swiss opposition against minaret building argues that they are a symbol of "Islamisation" and has no place in the "Swiss democracy". Yeah right! Remember that "democracy" in Switzerland is strictly limited to "Schweitzerbürger" and that to become one you have to have a well filled purse. And since 22% of the population are "Ausländers" and not included in the "democracy" their "democracy" might not be all that democratic? Did anyone say "bigots"?
As for "Islamisation" of the western society this only means that the world is getting smaller. People are for various reasons becoming more mobile, and they bring their culture and beliefs with them when they move. There is nothing wrong in that. The fear is irrational and rooted in the fear of the unknown. Walk into a Mosque or a Church and you will be welcomed as a friend. Get to know your neighbour. You might even learn something of value.
If they could just keep the noise down. A solution for both Christians and Muslims would be to take the technical revolution one step further. These days everyone has a mobile phone. Text messaging services could be used to remind the worshippers to come to prayer, and the need for bell towers and minarets would seize to exist. And it would have been totally voluntary! Subscribe to the service, you get the reminder. You could even subscribe to several services. Just to be on the safe side in your superstition.
The Swizz would need no ban on particular architectonical structures, and the rest of us would have been spared the incessant chiming and calling.
Have a nice weekend, and may your God go with you!
I prefer to walk alone.
posted by Morten E at 10:49
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