The Swiss are called to take a position on the ban on the face mask in public places in the binding, nationwide referendum that will take place on Sunday. According to opinion polls, most Swiss will support this position as well the ban will become law.
“In Switzerland, our tradition states that you show your face. “It’s a sign of our fundamental freedoms,” said Walter Wobman, a far-right SVP lawmaker and chairman of the referendum committee.
The proposal preceded its pandemic COVID-19, which forced all adults to wear masks on many occasions in order to stop the spread of the virus. The necessary support to put the question to a referendum was gathered in 2017, as noted by AMPE.
There is no direct reference to Islam, while the aim is also to put an end to the practice of using masks by violent protesters in the streets and hooligans of football teams. However, politicians, media and people involved in the campaign it has been described as a ban on the burqa.
The proposal exacerbates Switzerland’s already strained relationship with Islam after its citizens voted to ban the construction of new minarets in 2009. Two cantons already have local bans on face masks.
Wobmann said the referendum was not against Islam itself but added that “the veil is a symbol of this extremist, political Islam, which is becoming increasingly dominant in Europe and has no place in Switzerland.”
THE France banned the use of full face masks in public in 2011 and Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands and Bulgaria have full or partial bans on face masks in public.
No woman in Switzerland wears a burqa and only about 20% of women wear a niqab, according to estimates from the University of Lucerne. Muslims make up 5.2% of Switzerland’s 8.6 million population, most of them with roots in Turkey, Bosnia and Kosovo.
The Muslims of Switzerland have said that the right-wing parties use the referendum to rally their supporters and demonize themselves, while others have warned that a ban would lead to a larger gap.
“The niqab is a sheer fabric that allows people to express their fears,” said Andreas Tunger-Chanetti, head of the Center for Religious Studies at the University of Lucerne. “But… .it is very unlikely to meet anyone on the Swiss streets wearing it.”
He added that a ban risks endangering Switzerland’s image as anti-Islamist and could provoke bitterness among some Muslims.
Rifaat Lenchin, 67, a Swiss Muslim, said she was absolutely against the ban, dealing with a problem that did not exist in a country where Muslims are well integrated.
“Changing the constitution to tell citizens what they can and cannot wear is a very bad idea; this is Switzerland, not Saudi Arabia.”
“We are Muslims, but we are also Swiss citizens who have also grown up here,” Lenin said. “This referendum is simply racist and Islamophobic.”
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