That's nice to see

Jews back Muslims on minaret ban

Citing religious discrimination, a diverse coalition of Jewish organizations is objecting to Switzerland's ban of minarets on local mosques.

A model of a minaret, burning candles and a banner that reads "This is not my Switzerland" are seen on the Bundesplatz square in front of the governments building in Bern, Switzerland, to protest the acceptance of a minaret ban initiative on Sunday.

Swiss voters this week approved by a strong majority a referendum outlawing the construction of minarets. The measure, pushed by the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP), was supported by 57 percent of the population.

However, Jewish organizations, realizing that a crackdown on Islam could have repercussions for Jews as well, have come to the defense of Muslim worshipers, arguing that the Swiss's move was unjustifiable.

The French ambassador very rightly points out that in terms of concerns against radical Islam, the best way to deal with it is to moderate it, and such measures do nothing but aggravate the situation, although France has its own issues with its ban of the birka. The Swiss government, citing religious freedom concerns, did not support the vote. A party in Italy is considering bringing a similar vote there.

One of the scariest quotes came from Hegumen Filaret (Bulekov), a Moscow Patriarchate representative at the Council of Europe:

The issue of minarets is not an issue of religious freedom, but it is an issue of political presence of people of a certain faith and ethnic background in a country. Taking into account a rapid rate of Islamization, visible signs of Muslims' presence would have, in particular, a political tint.

So I guess the idea is to erase the visible signs of Islamic presence. How would they feel about taking away churches and synagogues while they're at it?

I am very concerned with the growth of nationalism in both Europe and here. Right-wing politics tend to be very clear about those seen as foreign as being an undesirable presence and somehow dangerous. This sentiment obviously worked in Switzerland. Look at the British National Party, or some of the fringe parties in America as well, some bordering or downright embracing a neo-Nazi-like agenda. Likewise, I am concerned about the fringe groups within Islam that amount to the same sort of mentality, but tend to be more violent, at least for now. It all seems ripe for isolationalism (I give you: Isolationism among Americans is at highest level in 40 years), fascism, even genocide, if taken to an extreme. Anyone remember what happened last century, say in the 20s and 30s? Or that there were plenty of supporters of nationalism and fascism (in part fueled by the immigration of Jews and Eastern Europeans in the first couple of decades of the 20th century) here in the US before we went to war?

That, coupled with the erosion of rights I see in the US and beyond, makes me more than a little worried at what direction the world (and history) are taking today.