Anti-Islam vote reveals growing Swiss hostility

This article was published in The Sydney Morning Herald 1 December 2009

Swiss voters have shocked their Government, sealing a ban on the building of minarets and unveiling an unexpectedly hostile public response to Europe's growing Muslim population.

A campaign by the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) to initiate a referendum and gauge support for a proposed minaret in a small town north of Berne elicited the backlash, with 57 per cent of voters approving the ban.

The use of direct democracy to bury the building application has severely embarrassed the Swiss Government which did not expect the result and is a major exporter to the Muslim world.