FRANKFURT In what many see as a major setback to Europe’s effort to integrate its booming Muslim population – and a potential boost to right-wing parties throughout the continent – Swiss voters Sunday approved a move to ban the construction of new minarets in the country. The Swiss government had urged voters to reject the ban, saying that it would violate religious freedom and human rights and intensify Islamic radicalism. But in Sunday’s referendum, which was organized by a right-wing political party, more than 57 percent of Swiss residents – a majority in 22 out of the country’s 26’s cantons – approved the proposal. ‘Muslims don’t just practice religion, they increasingly make political and legal demands,’ said Walter Wobmann, who heads the initiative behind the referendum. ‘The vote results shows that the Swiss do not want minarets or Sharia laws in their country.’ DANGEROUS FOR DEMOCRACY? The referendum sought to stop ‘political Islamization’ by amending the Swiss Constitution to add a clause stating ‘the construction of minarets is prohibited,’ a move critics say is dangerous for democracy. ‘Here you have a new phenomenon, attacking the basic tenets of democracy with a referendum,’ says Dieter Oberndörfer, a […]