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Minarets make poor neighbors
The native backlash has begun. And not just in Switzerland. "It seems our experience here is resonating across Europe," says a Swiss official in Berne."Culture clashes" over Muslim religious buildings have erupted in Italy, Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands. "Christian fundamentalists are behind this," says Reinhard Schulze, professor of Islamic studies at Berne University. "And there's also a lot of money coming in from the Gulf states." From London's docklands to the rolling hills of Tuscany, from southern Austria to Amsterdam and Cologne, the issue of Islamic architecture and its impact on citadels of "western civilisation" is increasingly contentious. The far right is making capital from Islamophobia by focusing on the visible symbols of Islam in Europe. In Switzerland it is the far-right SVP that is setting the terms of the debate. Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2007-10-14 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=202453 |