Yesterday, voters in Switzerland voted to ban the building of new minarets on mosques, with a majority 57.5 percent vote.

Swiss government spokespersons condemned the measure, saying it violates the Swiss nation’s “tradition of tolerance”. But under Switzerland’s People’s Referendum system, it was obliged to issue a statement saying it “respects this decision; consequently the construction of minarets is no longer permitted”. (Al Jazeera, 30/11/2009)

The Swiss People’s Party had forced the vote by collecting 100,000 signatures within the last 18 months.

About 5 percent of the Swiss population is Muslim.

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An associated controversy developed with the appearance around Switzerland of posters depicting a woman in a burka, plus the flag of Switzerland covered with black minarets shooting up like missiles.

Several Swiss municipalities banned these posters as being “disrespectful and dangerous”.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee called the posters “discriminatory”. It also said Switzerland would violate “international law” if it bans minarets.

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What can one say from a traditionalist Catholic perspective?

(1) What about “tolerance”?

In nations where Catholics are in a minority, the Catholics within them must “tolerate” living under non-Catholic administrations. Their aim, of course, being to keep converting people to the Faith until the demography is such that the time for instituting a Catholic State becomes ripe.

Once a state has become Catholic, those citizens unwilling to be Catholic will need to be “tolerated” — in the best sense of the word — allowing such citizens to live by their beliefs and religious practices, but to keep them out of sight.

For Catholics, the Catholic Faith is something public as well as private. The Church’s enemies – including some modernist so-called “Catholics” — want to make the Faith something that is private only. Anyone taking that stance is anti-Catholic, regardless of whether he is on the Church’s payroll, or even part of the hierarchy.

(2) What about a People’s-Referendum system for Australia?

Do we really believe in democracy – or do we prefer ongoing government-by-media-brainwash and lobby-group-blackmail as at present?