Muslims and Minarets

The Swiss voted to ban the construction of new Minarets on Sunday.  It's supporters claim it will prevent the "islamicization of Switzerland."  I really don't see how banning Minarets will do that.  Are they talking about the architectural Islamicization of Switzerland?

The comments in Globe articles are always hilarious, and this one did not disappoint (there's already over 400 comments).  A lot of them try to justify the ban by pointing out Saudi Arabia's persecution of Christians and other non-Muslims. 

Comparing Saudi Arabia and Switzerland is quite daft, to put it mildly.  On one hand we have an authoritarian, theocratic, and oppresive government.  On the other hand we have a liberal democratic country.  Switzerland is held to a higher standard, and that's fair. 

Andrew Sullivan's reaction:

It's hard to think of a gesture more useless with respect to a real problem - integration of Muslim immigrants - or clumsier as a way to provoke religious hostility and intolerance and thereby further radicalize Swiss Muslims.

I agree that the integration of Muslim immigrants is the real problem that the West faces.  Based on my experience within a segment of the Muslim community in Toronto, I believe that language and housing are the biggest impediments.  If new immigrants only talk to people that speak their language and live in areas where they only interact with people from back home, the result is cultural segregation from the mainstream.  This is a (longer) post for another day, but it's important to note.

Even though the result is disappointing,  let's remember that this was a free and fair election, and the people have made their choice.