Word: muslims
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Recently, a Swiss referendum called for a ban on the construction of minarets, religious structures used for prayer at mosques. The vote was supposed to “not [be] a rejection of the Muslim community, religion or culture,” according to proponents, but instead to make a statement against some of the more distasteful practices of Islamic fundamentalist groups, such as genital mutilation. But this egregious and discriminatory measure is not an effective censure of objectionable behaviors. It is an unacceptable solution that discriminates against the 400,000 Muslims who currently reside in Switzerland and flies...
...stop harmful practices like genital cutting—the connection between the two is tenuous to say the least. The use of minarets is not even limited to fundamentalist Islamic groups. Therefore, the results of the referendum serve no purpose other than needlessly alienating and insulting the Muslim community...
Furthermore, the consequences of this textbook example of the tyranny of the majority can be a boon to the cause of radical Islamic groups, who can look for new potential recruits amongst an increasingly alienated Swiss Muslim population. By voting in line with the rhetoric of fear, the Swiss people bypassed minority rights in favor of a perverse and ineffective solution to a problem that only exists in one niche portion of the Muslim community...
Even so, fear of anti-Muslim demonstrations or violence persuaded some worshippers to skip Friday prayers the day after the massacre. "I told my kids to stay home," says Faheem Qureshi, 48, an engineer at Ford Motor Co. "When something like this happens, you take no chances." Marwan Wehbe, 43, a manager at a national restaurant chain, agrees: "There's a feeling there's going to be a backlash." Some worry that law enforcement may not be on their side; they cite the killing of a controversial Detroit imam during an FBI raid of his mosque last month. (See TIME...
...worshippers stream out of Mardini's mosque, one man finds a package at the door. It is a hardbound Koran, in English, and it has been defaced with silver spray paint. Folded inside is a sheet of paper, bearing a message written in childish capitals: "Islam is a disease. Muslim immigrants are the virus ... Every Muslim should be kicked...