Falling Minarets?

I picked up the newspaper a few weeks ago and my eyes caught sight of the title "Swiss Voters back Ban on Building Minarets". It was in reference to a referendum that took place in Switzerland initiated by the Swiss People’ Party, a powerful right-wing political party currently holding a majority position in the country. What was even more distressing was the party’s comment on the ban “ The minaret is a symbol of a political and aggressive Islam… The minute you have minarets in Europe it means Islam will have taken over…”

ISLAM WILL HAVE TAKEN OVER?!?!? ...And guess what? All this fuss is over four minarets that currently exist in all of Switzerland. I better not begin to mention the ludicrous campaign poster with the woman in the burka and pointy minarets behind her that look like sharp thrusting spears… How ridiculous?

I was disappointed to learn that such comments were arising from a country that has boasted its neutrality, freedom, and human rights for years and years... What was more upsetting is that Europeans take great pride in their architectural appreciation in its various forms. How could they so simply decide to eradicate an indispensable architectural structure of a religious building be it Muslim, Jewish, or Buddhist for that matter? Do they not realize that minarets are no longer used as they were in the past where the Muezzin would traditionally ascend to the top of the minaret to call for prayer? Besides, the call for prayer in Switzerland is already banned. In those countries, minarets are an architectural symbol PERIOD... It's like calling for the banning of bell towers and steeples on churches, which would be just as disturbing…



What greater oxymoron could there be than the words “aggressive Islam” as quoted by the party's spokesman? … A religion that stems from the root “s-l-m” meaning peace in Arabic… I reflected on the article for a while and realized that the Muslim world has never been in greater need for "da'awa". The time has come to let the world know how Islam's "peace" is integrated into almost every facet of a Muslim’s life...be it with a smile, a greeting, or kind words... We are living in very challenging times where the word Islam needs to be revived with its true meanings of peace and submission. The irony of all this, however, is that Subhan Allah, each passing day proves to us that Islam is here to stay because it is a curriculum of life put forth by the All Mighty and no one can contest this...

Let us all remember how Allah (SWT) requested the Prophet Musa and his brother, Prophet Haroon, to approach Firaoun, the ultimate figure of evil in all of Islam's history and the greatest tyrant of all times... Let’s try to assimilate this lesson into our "da'awa". Allah (SWT) asks that they speak to him in a “mild manner”… Subhan Allah? What greater peace can there be than this?

اذْهَبَا إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّهُ طَغَى )
20:43 (Asad) go forth, both of you, unto Pharaoh: for, verily, he has transgressed all bounds of equity!

فَقُولَا لَهُ قَوْلًا لَّيِّنًا لَّعَلَّهُ يَتَذَكَّرُ أَوْ يَخْشَى )
20:44 (Asad) But speak unto him in a mild manner, so that he might bethink himself or [at least] be filled with apprehension. [28]