Swiss Ban on Minarets - Will Others in Europe Follow? In the whole of Switzerland, there are just 4 minarets. And that’s how it will stay, following the referendum on banning their construction. From now on, mosques built in the country will have to do without the traditional towers.   The vote has provoked anger. Critics say the decision to incorporate the ban on minarets into the Swiss constitution goes against international law, as well as being morally wrong and unbefitting a cosmopolitan country. They have dismissed the vote as a victory for fear, caused by a vague unease and stereotypes. Or was the vote perhaps a show of defiance, intended to remind politicians and intellectuals that voters aren't afraid to stand up for their own views? Even people in Switzerland were surprised by the outcome. Ahead of the referendum, opinion polls predicted that the initiative had no chance of passing. Yet 57.5% voted for the ban . Did the Swiss use it to speak out against Islam? Across Europe, right-wing populist parties like Italy's Lega Nord, the Danish People's Party and the Freedom Party of the Netherlands have welcomed the Swiss vote and announced plans for similar referendums. Switzerland's minaret ban has re-ignited not only debate about Islam's influence in the West, but also about the scope of voter referendums. In Germany, Social Democrats and Greens continue to stand by their demand for direct democracy in the form of popular referendums. To be on the safe side, civil rights advocates caution, ballot questions about basic rights should not be allowed to be put before voters. Switzerland's political class is trying to exercise damage control. Constitutional experts suspect that the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg could declare the minaret ban illegal. But what would that mean for respecting the outcome of democratic decisions? What do you think? Swiss Ban on Minarets - Will Others in Europe Follow? Write to us at: Quadriga@dw-world.d...