Swiss minaret ban reflects ‘ignorance’: Indonesia

Ary Hermawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 12/01/2009 3:40 PM

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa Tuesday decried Switzerland’s referendum vote to ban the construction of new mosque minarets in the country, saying it was “discriminatory” and “violated the right to freedom of religion.”

“We are deeply disappointed by the Swiss decision, which is contradictory to its image as an inclusive and tolerant nation,” Marty told reporters after hosting an interfaith dialogue between Indonesian prominent religious leaders and Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue at his office.

The new foreign minister said the controversial referendum in the European country reflected the need for more interfaith dialogues between religious communities as prejudice against Islam persists in Western countries. “We cannot afford to appreciate a policy that is based on ignorance,” he said.

He stopped short of saying, however, whether he feared the new cultural disharmony between Islam and liberal Europe would spark violent protests in the Muslim world, with Indonesia having the biggest population, as happened in 2006 over the Danish cartoon controversy.

The Swiss government, Marty said, had already informed Indonesia about the referendum vote a month ago and made clear that they were against it. “We have to remain clear-headed…Our task is to build a bridge of understanding to resolve the differences.”

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