It has taken me some long days of consideration before publishing this article, as I have considered both politics and religion as taboo subjects in my own article writing. However, this particular issue has intrigued me, and as I live in Switzerland, I feel I need to express my belief in Swiss democracy.
Some of you may be aware that the Swiss recently voted in favour of banning minarets in Switzerland. If not, check here for the story on Swissinfo. To me though, the story behind the story here is long and very far from Switzerland.
The unfortunate result of the attacks on New York September 2001 has been the total misrepresentation of muslims and in fact a distorted view of the Arab world in general. It would be easy to blame the voting population of Switzerland, but this would be absolving our western politicians and supportive media in portraying Islam and muslims in a dark light now for nearly a decade.
Yes, I know who was responsible for the attacks on the Twin Towers in New York, but rarely in human history have we ever blamed such a huge slice of our world’s population for one singular event. George Bush declared war on terrorism, which was really a veiled declaration against the muslim populations of the world. Western democracies joined his cause, almost without exception.
