Appeal lodged against Swiss minaret ban

Source: Islamonline

The European Court of Human Rights has received an appeal against a Swiss ban on minarets which has provoked international controversy.

The appeal was submitted to the court by former spokesman for the Geneva Mosque Hafid Ouardiri in an effort to overturn the decision made by the Swiss citizens who voted in a referendum for imposing a ban on the construction of minarets in the country.

Ouardiri filed the complaint in Strasbourg, saying the referendum violates the right to religious freedom and contravenes international laws against discrimination.

The Algerian-born Muslim also sent an open letter to the federal cabinet and all the members of the Council of Europe to inform them of the legal action against the ban, said Pierre de Preux, one of Ouardidi's lawyers.

The Swiss government has also voiced concerns over the minaret ban, a move initially supported by far-right Swiss People's Party — the country's largest party — and the Federal Democratic Union.

"We will have both the plaintiff Hafid Ouardiri and the defendant, [the Swiss government], saying the same thing," de Preux told the Reuters news agency. "The court is still free to decide whatever it wants, but it sure is going to help the request."

The right-wing Swiss People's Party says the government would be better off backing its people's voice than adhering to international treaties.

The Swiss referendum on the minaret ban drew sharp criticism from the Muslim states, the European countries, the United Nations and the Vatican.