Dear Roland!

Good game, but you seem to be playing on the wrong court. I'm not doubting how good-hearted the Swiss are for taking in a large number of migrants, most of whom fled war-torn homelands, or that they have a long, proud multi-ethnic background.

But since when did being a migrant mean that you're not entitled to equal rights? New Swiss Muslims are equally entitled to minarets as old Swiss Catholics are to church steeples. This is official discrimination. “One for all and all for one - so long as you don't want to build more than four minarets.”

This "old" Swiss democracy, by the way, was also one of the last in the WORLD to enfranchise women - as late as 1971. The referendum system didn't work too well there either...

No one here has even shown where Masykuri is wrong. Sure, he may be a hypocrite for not confronting issues of discrimination against Chinese Indonesians and the non-recognition of a large minority of Indonesians who don't fit into the "approved" religions mold, but that doesn't make his bringing attention to injustices elsewhere any less relevant.

Railing against narrow-minded thinking, asking for people "not to take revenge," urging peace, tolerance and freedom of religion. Who here wants to argue against that? You can't criticize people for subtle threats they didn't make. And Muslims taking "revenge" are just as hateful and intolerant as the Swiss who voted for this ban.

If the issue is about minarets, then most of the arguments here are way off topic. Can't remember the last time a hard-line minaret collected welfare, started jihad or burned down an embassy.

It's not about townscapes; it's not about inferiority complexes. It's state-sanctioned discrimination, plain and simple. Discrimination by any state, race, religion or creed should be rooted out and opposed anywhere in the world, whether it's in developing countries such as Indonesia or in "developed" nations like Switzerland. Am I wasting my time here?

Gesundheit!

Whether the Swiss are right or wrong is most certainly open to question. However, Indonesian Muslims most certainly do not have the right to start crying foul when it comes to discrimination against freedom of religion, and to do so is pure and quite disgusting hypocrisy: meaning, it is a double standard of the most immense proportions. Indonesian Muslims need to get their own house in order, and then, and only then, will they have gained the right to criticise other countries actions and policies.

I look around this World, and I cannot help but think, that any right thinking God would just ban religion.

Hey Roland, reading your comments, for certain I'll have to skip any ideas about arguing with you on this issue. Kudos to you. And if you do play volley, you'd make a damn good spiker.

Dear Artemus Jones!

Take in consideration that the majority of Muslims in Switzerland (as in other European countries) are immigrants first (and second) generation and in the majority not even citizens of these countries (and have generally NOT been asked to come there in the first place), however they are integrated in democratic processes in these countries (as democratic voting, as long they are citizens) and receiving a very fair share of welfare, paid by citizens of these countries. You know the motto of Switzerland is “Einer für alle, alle für einen”, which means “One for all and ALL for one”.

Stigmatization and alienation of the Muslim culture and ethnic backgrounds is not what the Swiss did (as they themselves are multi ethnic French, German, Italian , Romansh) but they did it themselves, driven by hard line provocateurs, similar to Mr. Maskuri Abdillah, as they know the well the power they have over these masses due to that. I personally read the quote of Mr. Maskuri about his “call on Indonesian Muslims not to take revenge over the decision” definite as a subtle threat – what would they do if he wouldn’t call for “tolerance” – starting a Jihad war in Switzerland or burning down the Swiss Embassy? Even you hope he can deliver what he “promises”! What happens otherwise?

Alas - talking about cultural integration - how about Indonesian Chinese with Indonesian citizenship, living here for generations - generally they are still used as scapegoats for all bad happening to Indonesia (and got therefore for hundred of years killed, raped, robbed) and generally they are either Buddhist or Christians.

You also have to understand that in Europe in general religion is not such a driving force in government affairs as here in Indonesia, if at all. And by the way – Switzerland is one of the oldest democracies in the world – in ensure you – they know what they are doing in this regard!

And, the FORTUNATE democratic vote makes it right; it is about minarets and not about mosques.

But I guess, taking you comment, I am just wasting my time here, I am certain that you never visited Europe and enjoyed the tolerance of people there.

God bless you!

P.S.: As I assume you like to Google – google Switzerland in Wikipedia – so you get a bit of a better view of this country. In case you don’t care here are a few excepts of this article:

“The federal constitutional initiative allows CITIZENS to put a constitutional amendment to a national vote, if they can get 100,000 voters to sign the proposed amendment within 18 months. Parliament can supplement the proposed amendment with a counter-proposal, with voters having to indicate a preference on the ballot in case both proposals are accepted. Constitutional amendments, whether introduced by initiative or in Parliament, must be accepted by a double majority of both the national popular vote and a majority of the cantonal popular votes”

“Resident foreigners and temporary foreign workers make up about 22% of the population….the high proportion of foreign citizens in the country, as well as the generally unproblematic integration of foreigners, underlines Switzerland's openness.”

and

“Switzerland has no official state religion…Christianity is the predominant religion of Switzerland, divided between the Catholic Church (41.8% of the population) and various Protestant denominations (35.3%). Immigration has brought Islam (4.3%, predominantly Kosovars, Bosniaks and Turks) and Eastern Orthodoxy (1.8%) as sizeable minority religions. The 2005 Eurobarometer poll found 48% to be theist, 39% expressing belief in "a spirit or life force", 9% atheist and 4% agnostic. Greeley (2003) found that 27% of the population does not believe in God.”

Maskuri Abdillah is not ashame of washing dirty linen in public and that's a disgusting FACT!!!

Has he ever looked at his own backyard? Talk about conscience!

He has taken the wrong path with a full dosage of false piety and now subjecting himself to ridicule.

This has left a sour taste in the mouth of moderate muslims who I hope can easily recognize and condemn hypocrisy.