The Swiss through a referendum imposed a national ban on the construction of minarets. The referendum, which passed with a clear majority of 57.5 per cent of the voters and in 22 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, was a victory for the right. As the ban gained a majority of votes and passed in a majority of the cantons, it will be added to the Constitution. The rightist Swiss People’s Party, or SVP, and a small religious party had proposed inserting a single sentence banning the construction of minarets, leading to the referendum. Of 150 mosques in Switzerland, only four have minarets, and only two more minarets are planned. None conducts the call to prayer. SVP forced a referendum on whether or not minarets should be banned after collecting 100,000 signatures from eligible voters within 18 months. The right-wing proposal has stirred fears of violent reactions in Muslim countries and an economically disastrous boycott by wealthy Muslims who bank, shop and spend holidays in Switzerland.
A few days before this referendum, Amnesty International insisted on that any Swiss ban on building mosque minarets would be a breach of religious freedom and violation of equality rights on the base of religion.