Switzerland voted to ban the construction of minarets on mosques. Switzerland does not want to make itself comfortable for Muslim jihadists, Muslim suicide bombers, Muslim murderers of political cartoonists or other Muslim extremists who would substitute shaaria for secular constitutions or otherwise undermine religious freedom for non-Islamic religions. Switzerland does not want to go the way of the rest of Europe. All very understandable desires.
But the matter is hardly simple. For starters: Not all Muslims are jihadists; in fact, most arent. One does not punish the innocent. Of greater moment, todays limited ban is tomorrows bigotry; and tomorrows bigotry is the day afters genocide. Sound far-fetched? Read the history of the rise of Nazism. The ugly portrayal of the minaret on the Swiss election posters looks like the infamous Nazi propaganda by the execrable Nazi Julius Streicher. Of course, the symbols are different; but the tone, the art, the ugliness, the message is the same: Verboten. Read the related blog posting, “Questions”
If Switzerland had a sterling record on human rights, maybe, just maybe, it would be possible to view its vote to ban minarets differently. But Switzerlands human rights record is anything but sterling. During WW II, Switzerland did save some Jews, but Switzerland turned away many Jews at the border. Switzerland traded with the Nazis and piled up heaps of wealth in the form of gold and other precious items extracted from dead Jews or their homes. Switzerland stole the money that Holocaust victims had deposited in numbered accounts.
When Switzerland votes to ban minarets, it is not a kind but concerned voice that is talking. It is a self-centered, callous voice talking. Just the voice, just the tone, that has the potential to embolden bigots and haters not only in Switzerland, but all over Europe.
If it is this simple to ban a minaret, it will be equally simple to ban a synagogue, a church, or any other religious or political expression. In short, the Swiss vote must be seen not only on its own terms, but in terms of precedent. Today, a minaret, tomorrow a Star of David. Today, a vote, tomorrow a pogrom or a concentration camp.
If some regard this as overwrought, then just what would it take to raise alarm? Remember, Nazism started small. A book (Mein Kampf). A few rallies. A local election. It started small but always, with a symbol. A swastika. Symbols move people, especially people already given to bigotry. Switzerland has produced not only a vote, but a symbol. (See accompanying art.) The time to stop this movement is now, when it is small.
It is time for repercussions against Switzerland. By the US. By the EU. It is time to act not to let the virus grow.
As for radical Islam? Yes, of course, it must be countered with every instrument at a free societys disposal. Yes, of course, it must be characterized unflinchingly and recog- nized openly. No more PC; no more ignoring clear declarations of murder in the name of Islam, such as by the Ft. Hood killer. No more pretending that radical Islam is not a spreading force.
If it were not for Switzerlands history, that is what we would call her vote a temporary excess. But given Switzerlands and all of Europes history, knowing how fast and how pervasively the virus of hate can spread there, we may not merely caution Switzerland to pull back. If anything, anti-Semitism and other forms of racism are more openly proclaimed in Europe than at any time since the end of WW II. It is a time for vigilance and repercussion. One genocidal paroxysm of European hate was more than enough.
