Mediating Tensions over Islam in , Holland, and Switzerland

Simon J A Mason, Abbas Aroua, Annika Åberg

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Further related publications are available at www.isn.ethz.ch and www.peacemediation.ch: • Transforming Conflicts with Religious Dimensions: Methodolgies and Practical Experiences • Debriefing Mediators to Learn from Their Experiences • Insider Mediators - Exploring Their Key Role in Informal Peace Processes • The Tormented Triangle: The Regionalisation of Conflict in Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic • To Be a Negotiator: Strategies and Tactics • Mediation Essentials: Dealing with the Past in Peace Mediation • Mediation Essentials: Federalism and Peace Mediation • Mediation Essentials: Gender and Peace Mediation • Towards Realizing the Strengths and Mitigating the Challenges of NGO Mediators • Unpacking the Mystery of Mediation in African Peace Processes • Linking Environment and Conflict Prevention – the role of the United Nations • Tools for Building Confidence on the Korean Peninsula • Mediation and Facilitation in Peace Processes • Conflict analysis tools

CSS ETH Zurich

101005-Mediating-Islam-Cover.indd 1 05.10.2010 14:37:27 © Simon J A Mason, Abbas Aroua, Annika Åberg, Center for Security Studies, ETH Zurich and Cordoba Foundation, Geneva

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Authors: Dr. Simon J. A. Mason is a senior researcher at the Cen- ter for Security Studies, ETH Zurich (www.css.ethz.ch). Dr. Abbas Aroua is the director of the Cordoba Founda- tion in Geneva, which works on intercultural exchange and peace research (www.cordoue.ch). Annika Åberg was an intern at the Center for Secu- rity Studies, ETH Zurich, working on the Danish and Dutch cases. Content

Editors: Simon J A Mason, Damiano Sguaitamatti Abstract 1 Introduction 1 Availability: This report can be accessed online at The Mediation Approach 2 www.css.ethz.ch and www.cordoue.ch The “Face of Mohammed” Cartoons in Denmark 4 Front cover image: Euro RSCG Switzerland Cordoba Mediation Experience 6 Acknowledgements: Acknowledgements to the very help- Reactions and Motivations 7 ful inputs from Andreas Wenger, Victor Mauer, Daniel Discussion 9 Trachsler, Chris Thomas Findlay, Marion Ronca (Center The Dutch Fitna Film 10 for Security Studies, ETH Zurich), Sabina Laederach Discussion 11 (Cordoba Foundation), Stine Lehman-Larsen (Cen- The Swiss Vote to Ban Minarets 12 ter for Humanitarian Dialogue, Geneva) and Emanuel Scheublin (Graduate Institute, Geneva). Explanations 14 Reactions 15 Disclaimer: Any opinions expressed in this article pres- Discussion 16 ent the views of the authors alone, and not those of the Conclusions 18 authors’ respective institutions.

101005-Mediating-Islam-Cover.indd 2 05.10.2010 14:37:27 Mediating Tensions over Islam in Denmark, Holland, and Switzerland

Abstract1 tory, culture, and political system of these Over the last few years, tensions have arisen countries, they also have something in com- over the cultural, religious, and physical mon. Many European states are struggling “space” of . This article ex- with the question of how to treat their Mus- 2 plores how governments deal with such de- lim populations. 1F The Muslim populations in bates by examining the “Face of Mo- Europe, on the other hand, often feel discri- 3 hammed” cartoon crisis in Denmark, the minated against. 2F “Fitna” film in Holland, and the ban on mi- In the tensions that followed the Danish car- naret construction in Switzerland. The anal- ysis shows how the tensions tend to decrease toon incident, people were killed. In Hol- when governments create opportunities for land, right-wing politician Pim Fortuyn and actors to discuss their fears, hopes, and val- filmmaker Theo van Gogh were killed in ues. In contrast, tensions tend to escalate if 2002 and 2004 respectively. In Dresden, governments are closely associated with the Marwa Ali El-Sherbini, a pregnant woman of parties who are politicizing Islam, if basic Egyptian origin, was killed on 1 July 2009 in values are invoked, and if only legal means a court of law while testifying against her are used to deal with differences. The cul- murderer, a man who had attacked her ver- tural diversity of Europe is likely to persist, bally for wearing a headscarf. During the if not increase. Therefore, greater efforts are court case about the construction of a mina- needed to find ways of dealing with differ- ret at Wangen bei Olten, Switzerland, the ences in a constructive manner. Mediative was desecrated by pork being hung approaches can help to deescalate tensions 4 while respecting the core values and identi- on the door, and windows being smashed. 3F ties of the involved actors. Tensions over the space of Islam can quickly escalate and even lead to protests and acts of violence. Introduction This article aims to explore in how far media- The question of how much “space” there is tion approaches can be used to prevent or for Islam in Europe has created tensions dur- minimize the violence used in dealing with ing recent years, for example related to the such conflicts, including an analysis of the “face of Mohammed” cartoons in Denmark, limits of such approaches. We focus on the the “Fitna” film by Geert Wilders in Hol- Danish, Dutch, and Swiss cases, especially on land, the debates over carrying head-scarves the role of the government in dealing with in France, the constructions of in such tensions. Germany or the vote to ban minarets in Swit- zerland. While all these cases represent unique situations, molded by the specific his- 2 Antonsich, Marco. “Mapping the Swiss referendum on the mina- ret ban”, in: Political Geography 29 (2010), no. 2, pp. 57–62. 3 European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia. Mus- 1 A shorter version of this text was originally published in German: lims in the European Union: Discrimination and . Simon J A Mason, Abbas Aroua, Annika Åberg, “Spannungen 2006. um den Islam in Dänemark, den Niederlanden und der Schweiz: http://fra.europa.eu/fraWebsite/attachments/Manifestations_EN. Konstruktiver Umgang dank mediativer Ansätze? In: Andreas pdf. Wenger, Victor Mauer und Daniel Trachsler (eds.), Bulletin 4 “Minaret Debate Angers Swiss ”, in: Euronews, 19 No- 2010 zur schweizerischen Sicherheitspolitik. Zurich, Center for vember 2009. http://www.euronews.net/2009/11/19/minaret- Security Studies, ETH Zurich, 2010 www.css.ethz.ch. debate-angers-swiss-muslims/ The Mediation Approach

The cases we analyze all indicate a similar First, focus on interests rather than positions:7 pattern where a small group instrumentalizes The basic idea is illustrated by a simple ex- an issue, creating polemics, thereby giving ample: two people are fighting over an reasons to the other side to instrumentalize orange. They both state their position, de- the issue as well and take the level of polemics fined as “a statement of what I say I want”. to even higher levers. In the process of escala- Their position in this case is “I want the tion, values are invoked and linked to group orange”. As long as both parties stick to this identities. Different actors are aggregated into position, the outcome of the negotiations will large groups, such as “the West” or “Mus- be sub-optimal. They can split the orange, or lims”. These mechanisms tend to increase the the more powerful actor gets the entire cohesion within the group, but also escalate orange. In contrast, the interest-based ap- tensions between the groups, which tends to proach to negotiations argues that the actors heat up the conflict. Such a vicious circle can need to identify and articulate their interests. only be broken by “middle ground” actors, Interests are expressed in terms of “why do I both non-Muslim and Muslim, who deal want something? what do I want something with the underlying fears and concerns in po- for? what are my objectives?”. In the example litical processes that focus on balancing inter- cited above, one actor may explain that he ests, rather than pitting positions against each wants the orange for its peel, to bake a cake, other. while the other actor may explain that she wants the orange to drink the juice. On the The Mediation Approach level of interests, the two actors can find a so- lution that is mutually acceptable and benefi- Politics can be defined as a process where cial. groups of people make collective decisions. Negotiations are defined as joint decision- In real-life cases, the solution is never so neat, making processes.5 Thus, one can distinguish but experience has shown that negotiations between “political processes” that may or may based on interests rather than positions tend not entail joint decision-making, and “politi- to de-escalate a conflict and provide greater 8 cal negotiation processes” that entail joint de- satisfaction to all parties involved. To clarify 9 cision-making processes. If assisted by a third what “interests” are, Cheryl Piccard differen- party that is accepted by all sides, such nego- tiates the concept’s components such as con- tiation processes are called mediation cerns, hopes, expectations, assumptions, processes. A wider definition of mediation, priorities, beliefs, fears, and values. This un- also sometimes called a “meditative ap- packing of the bundle of “interests” is helpful proach”, does not necessarily call for a media- when trying to identify the interests behind a tor as a person, but refers to mediation as a specific position. The aim of interest-based “process involving the creation of social spac- negotiations is to find solutions that satisfy es between divided groups, as opposed to a process lodged in the work of an individual or small team”. 6 Two key principles of medi- ation are: 7 Fisher, Roger and William Ury. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. New York: Penguin Books, 1983. 8 Bowling, Daniel and David A. Hoffman. “Bringing Peace into the Room: The Personal Qualities of the Mediator and Their Impact 5 Zartman, William. “Negotiation as a Joint Decision-Making on the Mediation”, in: Negotiation Journal 16 (2000), no. 1, pp. Process”, in: Journal of Conflict Resolution 21 (1977), no. 4, pp. 5–28. 619–38. 9 Picard, Cheryl A. Mediating Interpersonal & Small Group Con- 6 Lederach, Jean-Paul. “Building Mediative Capacity in Deep- flict. Ottawa: Golden Dog Press, 2002. She suggests the mne- Rooted Conflict”, in: The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs 26 monic device “CHEAP BFVs” as an acronym for these compo- (2002), no. 1, pp. 91–101. nents. 2

Mediating Tensions over Islam in Denmark, Holland, and Switzerland

every party’s minimal interests at least (de- creating alliances with them, the weaker actor fined as a “compromise”)10. may seek to level the playing field. Further- Second, focus on process rather than just on con- more, there is evidence that a party’s assess- tent:11 Mediators shape the process by helping ment of their “Best Alternative to A Nego- tiated Agreement”13 to determine the goal, the timing, the partic- is the key factor influen- ipation, and the structure of the meetings, yet cing the role of power. If an actor sees his or they leave the substance up to the parties. her alternatives to negotiations as being pre- This leaves a greater amount of autonomy to ferable to a negotiated outcome, it is likely the parties than a solution imposed from the they will not negotiate. outside, thus increasing the chances that solu- Culturalization: Culturalization will be used tions developed will be legitimate and sus- here to refer to a process where cultural14 dif- tainable, while at the same time the control ferences are used as an instrument against of the process increases the chances of a non- another actor, even if cultural differences are violent approach to dealing with conflict. not the source of the conflict.15 Besides cultu- There are also limitations to the space of ne- ralization, there are cases where value differ- ences can be the source of tensions; in such gotiations and mediation, these include: cases, negotiations cannot usefully try to 12 Politicization and power: Politicization is the change the values, but rather deal with prag- process of making an issue a public issue. matic issues that are caused by the differenc- This is not negative per se, as it can be driven es.16 by real issues that need to be dealt with in the public sphere. Nevertheless, politicization can Using legal means: Legal means are essential to also be driven by personal motivations or the create predictable and “fair” frameworks, and agenda of a political party in order to gain protect the weaker party. However, not all votes in an election. From the point of view conflicts can be solved through legal means, of mediation, the politicizing of issues is which often lead to “win-lose” outcomes, problematic when an issue is instrumenta- while interest-based negotiations can lead to lized for the purposes of enhancing one par- mutually acceptable outcomes. Nevertheless, ty’s profile. In such cases, the process no negotiations do not take place in a legal va- longer deals with issues as such, but becomes cuum so that all decisions that come out of a a question of “us” versus “them”. This kind negotiation process must be compatible with of personalized politicizing can increase ten- sions.

Politicization and negotiations are also 13 Fisher/Ury. Getting to Yes, p. 97. 14Avruch defines culture as “[s]ocially inherited, shared, and learned shaped by power and knowledge asymmetries ways of living possessed by individuals by virtue of their member- between actors. The more powerful actors ship in social groups.” Avruch, Kevin. “Cross-Cultural Conflict”, s.v. Conflict Resolution, in: Hipel, Keith William (ed.). Encyclo- tend to avoid interest-based negotiations, as pedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS). Oxford: Eolss Publish- they can satisfy their goals by dominating the ers, 2004. http://www.eolss.net/ebooks/Sample%20Chapters/C14/E1-40- discourse. Power, however, is relative. By en- 01-01.pdf. larging the number of actors involved and 15 Fechler, Bernd. “Dialog der Anerkennung. Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Mediation bei ‘interkulturellen’ Konflikten in der Schule”, in: Kloethers, U./Lüddecke, J./Quehl, T. (eds.). Schul- 10 Robert Weibel. Negotiation Handbook (unpublished), SDC ne- wege in die Vielfalt. Handreichung zur Interkulturellen und Anti- gotiation course 2005. rassistischen Pädagogik in der Schule. Frankfurt: ARIC-NRW, 11 Moore, Christopher. The Mediation Process: Practical Strategies 2003, pp. 103–48. for Resolving Conflict. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 16 For more on the overlap of conflict and culture, see LeBaron, 1996. Michelle, “Transforming Cultural Conflict in an Age of Com- 12 Emmers, Ralf. “Securitization”, in: Alan Collins (ed.), Contem- plexity”, in: Berghof Handbook for Conflict Resolution, Berlin: porary Security Studies. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Berghof Conflict Research, 2001. http://www.berghof- Press 2007, pp. 109–26. handbook.net/documents/publications/lebaron_hb.pdf. 3

The “Face of Mohammed” Cartoons in Denmark

the existing legal framework, or initiate polit- inter-faith harmony, better integration and ical processes to change the legal framework. Denmark’s overall relations with the Muslim 19 world.”18F Rasmussen refused to meet with the The “Face of Mohammed” Car- Muslim ambassadors, but responded with a toons in Denmark brief letter of his own: “The freedom of ex- pression has a wide scope and the Danish Already before the newspaper Jyllands-Posten Government has no means of influencing the had published cartoons depicting the prophet 20 press”. 19F Mohammed in September 2005, there was an ongoing public debate about immigration Some of the imams and ambassadors then 21 and freedom of speech and self-censorship. A traveled to various Muslim countries.20F They Danish author had complained that he could had a dossier of the media clippings with not find anyone to illustrate his children’s them, as well as more obscene images that book about Mohammed, due to fear of vio- had been sent to the imams, probably in- 22 lent reprisals. In this context, Jyllands-Posten tended as insults. 21F The Organisation of the wrote to an association of Danish cartoonists, Islamic Conference expressed its concern at 23 asking them to draw a cartoon on the sub- “rising hatred against Islam and Muslims”. 22F 17 ject.16F Due to the traditional injunction in Is- Some Western governments tried to calm the lam against depicting the prophet, all of the situation with statements about the right to 12 cartoons were offensive; two of them were publish, but a responsibility not to publish. particularly offensive, depicting Mohammed This caused reactions from defenders of free with a bomb-shaped turban, and as an assas- speech, and the cartoons were reprinted in 18 sin.17F the Netherlands, Belgium, and Scandinavia in January 2006 and in France, Germany, It- The publication of the cartoons led to out- 24 aly, and Spain in February 2006.23F Four rage among the Muslim immigrants living in months after the initial publication, Jyllands- Denmark, with demonstrations of about Posten apologized not for the publication it- 5,000 people. A group of Danish imams ap- proached 11 Muslim ambassadors in Den- 19 Letter to his Excellency, Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Prime mark asking them to submit a formal com- Minister, Kingdom of Denmark, from the Ambassadors and Chargés d’Affairs of , Saudia Arabia , , Pakistan, In- plaint to Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh donesia, Egypt, Algeria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Libya, Morocco, Rasmussen. The ambassadors sent a letter to and the Palestinian General Delegation, 12 October 2005. http://www.rogerbuch.dk/jpabrev.pdf. See also: “The Cartoon Rasmussen complaining about the cartoons Crisis – and why the Danish Prime Minister Should Resign”, in: as well as a series of racist statements asso- Politiken, 23 February 2006. 20 Official response to ambassadors from A.F. Rasmussen, 21 Oc- ciated with members of the Danish Parlia- tober 2005. ment that, for example, compared Muslims 21 Ammitzbøll, Pernille and Vidino, Lorenzo. “After the Danish Cartoon Controversy”, in: Quarterly 14 (2007), no. to “cancer cells” or called for a struggle 1, pp. 3–11. “Prophet cartoon issue taken up abroad”, in: The against “medieval Muslim culture”. In their Post, 13 October 2005. 22 “Those Danish Cartoons”, in: The New York Times, 7 February letter, they urgently requested a meeting with 2006, the prime minister and urged the Danish http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/07/opinion/07tue2.html?_r=1 &pagewanted=print&oref=slogin); Human Rights Watch. Ques- government “to take all those responsible to tions and answers on the Danish cartoons and Freedom of Ex- task under law of the land in the interest of pression, 15 February 2006, www.hrw.org/english/docs/2006/02/15/denmar12676.htm; Ammitzbøll and Vidino, “After the Danish Cartoon Controversy; What the Muhammad cartoons portray”, in: BBC News, 9 Feb- 17 Pipes, Daniel, , and Rose Flemming. “Reflections ruary 2006, on the Danish Cartoon Controversy”, in: Middle East Quarterly http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4693292.stm. 14 (2007), no. 4, pp. 59–66; Rose, Flemming. “Why I Published 23 Human Rights Watch. Questions and answers. Those Cartoons”, in: The Washington Post, 19 February 2006. 24 Reynolds, Paul. “Cartoons: Divisions and inconsistencies”, in: 18 Brinch, Jannik. “The Cartoonist: The reason for the bomb in the BBC News, 13 February 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia- turban”, in: Jyllands-Posten, 28 February 2006. pacific/4708216.stm. 4

Mediating Tensions over Islam in Denmark, Holland, and Switzerland

self, but for offending Muslims, probably due On 12 February 2008, after a relatively long to cultural misunderstandings. 25 Prior to this, calm period, the cartoons were reprinted in the regional public prosecutor of Viborg had major newspapers in Denmark, Sweden, and found no basis for concluding that the car- Spain in response to an alleged assassination toons constituted a criminal offence.26 attempt on one of the cartoonists, Kurt Wes- tergaard.29 In part as a reaction to the reprinting of the In its turn, this caused uproar among Muslims, mainly in Pakistan, Gaza, cartoons in February 2006, an outcry spread 30 to the Muslim world. Mass protests took and Denmark. On 2 June 2008, there was a place in many countries, in some cases lead- suicide attack attempting to blow up the Da- ing to violence, loss of life, and destruction of nish embassy in Pakistan – two years after the 31 property. The flags of Denmark, France, and initial publication of the cartoons. On 19 Norway were burnt; in some cases, the Swiss June 2008, the Danish High Court rejected flag was also burnt, probably due to its simi- defamation charges on the grounds that there larity with the Danish one. A consumer boy- was no proof that the purpose of the publica- cott was organized by , Kuwait, tion of the cartoons in 2005 was to depict Muslims as criminals and terrorists. The and other Middle Eastern countries.27 On 3 court ruled that terror acts had been carried February 2006, the Danish government, out in the name of Islam, and that it was not which had been more or less silent until then, illegal under Danish law to make satirical issued a statement calling for calm, saying the drawings to illustrate this. threats against Denmark were unacceptable and that there had been a lot of misinforma- The publication of the cartoons resulted in tion.28 the worst crisis in Denmark’s foreign rela- tions since World War II.32 There were various attempts to deescalate the The implications conflict, both in Europe and in Muslim of the caricatures are still felt today. In Janu- states, including a mediation attempt: A call ary 2010, there was a failed murder attempt was issued by Arab and European intellec- by a Somali against the caricaturist Wester- 33 tuals (the Paris Call) on 9 February 2006; a gaard. On the other hand, there were also mediation initiative took place in Geneva, fa- constructive measures that illustrate the po- cilitated by the Cordoba Foundation, on 13 29 Ryan, Rosalind. “Danish newspapers reprint Muhammad car- February 2006 (see section below); a confe- toon”, in: The Guardian, 13 February 2008. rence was organized in Copenhagen on reli- http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/13/muhammadcarto ons. gious and cultural dialog on 10–11 March 30 In Pakistan’s largest riot, 70,000 people gathered in the north- 2006; a congress in Bahrain discussed the cri- western city of Peshawar, burning cars, cinemas, Western fast- food chains, and various embassies. They were protesting the de- sis; and the Al Jazeera Center for Studies or- cision of several Western newspapers to republish the Muham- ganized a forum on “Islam and the West: for mad cartoons, and a forthcoming short film, “Fitna”, by contro- versial Dutch politician Geert Wilders. Ali, Farhana. “Danish car- a Better World” in May 2006. toons doom us all”. In: Universal Press International, 21 March 2008, http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2008/03/21/Outside- View-Danish-cartoons-doom-us-all/UPI-69121206110137/; 25 Juste, Carsten. “Honourable Fellow Citizens of the Muslim “Muslims March Against Reprinting of Danish Newspaper Car- World”, in: Jyllands-Posten, 8 February 2006. toons Depicting Muhammad”, in: Fox News, 15 February 2008. http://jp.dk/udland/article177649.ece. 31 An al-Qaida operative based in Afghanistan took responsibility 26 “Muhammad newspaper cartoon acquitted”, in: The Copenha- for the bombing, saying it was carried out to fulfill a pledge by gen Post, 26 October 2005; “Cartoon newspaper off racist hook”, Osama bin Laden to avenge the reprinting of the cartoon depict- in: The Copenhagen Post, 3 November 2005. ing the prophet. “Danish court rejects defamation lawsuit over 27 Zand, Bernhard. “The Cartoon Wars: The Inciters and the In- cartoons”, in: International Herald Tribune, 19 June 2008, cited”, in: Der Spiegel, 13 February 2006, http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/19/europe/islam.php. http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,400519,00.ht 32 Ammitzbøll and Vidino, “After the Danish Cartoon Controver- ml. sy”, pp. 3–11. 28 Address by Foreign Minister Dr. Per-Stig Moeller, 3 February 33 “Somali attacks Mohammed cartoonist”, in: Politiken, 2 January 2006, Embassy of Denmark in Islamabad. 2010. http://politiken.dk/newsinenglish/article871593.ece. 5

The “Face of Mohammed” Cartoons in Denmark

tential of meditative approaches, even with- the Muslim World was mandated by the out the direct support of the government: In Global Anti-aggression Campaign, the Inter- January 2010, the newspaper Politiken and a national Committee of Support of the Final group of Muslims agreed out of court on an Prophet and the Union of Muslim Scholars, “amicable understanding and settlement”. chaired by one of the most respected scholar Politiken apologized for unintentionally in- in the Muslim world, Sheikh Yusuf al Qara- sulting Muslims by reprinting the carica- dawi, among other NGOs. 34 tures. The agreement was made public in a The Geneva meeting of 13 February 2006 35 joint press release. lasted four hours and the discussions were Mediation Experience of the Cordoba frank and friendly. At its request, the Danish Foundation delegation was assisted by a Muslim adviser, Prof. Tarik , and the Muslim dele- After this more general description of the gation by a Scandinavian one, Prof. Johan events in the section above, and before going Galtung. This contributed a lot in confidence into an analysis of them in the section below, building and helped assuring a fluid ex- this following section zooms in, to give a change. more in-depth insight into a specific media- tion effort that took place in 2006, drawing After the presentations and a brief description some lessons learned from this “micro-level” of the situation and the main phases of the meeting. crisis, the Danish delegation explained the social and political context in which the pub- In early 2006 the Cordoba Centre for Peace lication of cartoons took place: the effect of Studies (CCPS) was asked by some of its globalization, a feeling of loss of identity, the partners to attempt mediation between the sense of isolation and loss of influence and and the Muslims during the cartoon the sense of insecurity, and also that the voice crisis. The CCPS approached the Danish au- of ordinary Danish Citizens was not suffi- thorities (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mission ciently articulated. They acknowledged that in Geneva) as well as a number of transna- the Danish Prime Minister erred by refusing tional Muslim organizations with big influ- to receive the delegation of Arab ambassa- ence on the civil societies, representing both dors, which lead to the escalation. Sunni and Shiite schools. The Danish au- thorities and several Muslim NGOs accepted The Muslim delegation said that the situation the offer of mediation and agreed to send in the Muslim world is characterized by in- delegations for a first contact and exchange tense popular widespread anger, with the feel- meeting in Geneva, planned for 13 February ing that the honor and sanctities of Muslims 2006, at the offices of the Cordoba Founda- are trampled on. Although there is a deter- tion. The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs mination to continue the boycott of Danish appointed a 3-member delegation represen- products, the majority of Muslims favors di- ting the political, scientific and religious au- alogue and finding a solution that rehabili- thorities, headed by a Muslim Dane, Ambas- tates and prevents the repetition of such be- sador Wøhlers Ole Olsen. The delegation of havior. The consequences of the crisis on the Mus- 34 See: Politiken, 26 February 2010, lim/Western relations were evoked, as well as http://politiken.dk/debat/fakta/article910939.ece. 35 Joint press release about the Prophet Mohammed Cartoon the negative impact on Muslim minorities in Drawing. In: Politiken, 26 Feburary 2010. Denmark and Christian minorities in the http://politiken.dk/debat/fakta/article910932.ece. The group represented Muslim organizations with 94,923 members from Muslim world. The delegations agreed that Egypt, Libya, Qatar, Australia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, the crisis must be handled, not by govern- and Palestine. 6

Mediating Tensions over Islam in Denmark, Holland, and Switzerland

ments alone, but by all segments of society. Reactions and Motivations At the end of the meeting, the Muslim dele- How can the events described above be un- gation submitted a list of demands to the derstood from the perspective of the various Danish delegation for the Danish Govern- actors? On the Danish side, there had been a ment, and Ambassador Olsen said he would shift in the tone used in Danish politics be- examine them at the ministry of Foreign af- tween 2001 and 2005, where immigration 36 fairs. was increasingly politicized and it was more The Geneva meeting was successful, given and more acceptable to make racist state- the quality of the exchange that took place. ments in the media and in right-wing poli- At the end of the meeting the two delegations tics, e.g., to use the word “perker”, the Da- agreed on the need to organize as soon as nish slang term for a Dane with an ethnic possible a second meeting enlarged to include background perceived as “foreign”, a word a wider spectrum of personalities. with a very negative connotations that would never have been publicly acceptable in the Unfortunately this did not happen due to in- 1990s. Though demonstrations in Denmark terferences from other Muslim actors, namely after the publication of the cartoons were in- some preachers from the Gulf region and itially driven by Muslims, they were highly Egypt who had little knowledge of mediation supported by all other Danes who had had processes, no representation and mandate, yet enough of such provocative politicizing. who offered to deliver “appeasing” speeches However, the internationalization of the issue in Denmark, based on a moral rhetoric of the that caused the second outburst of protests kind “we are all nice brothers, and should live world-wide was caused by the imams after in peace and love”. They promised to call for Rasmussen’s refusal to meet. Yet the imams a lift of the ban on Danish goods in the Arab did not have the backing of most Muslims in world. The mediation did not continue also Denmark for this internationalization. To a due to Danish actors who preferred to engage large extent, the internationalization was also with those preachers, thinking that this part of an internal power struggle within would be less costly. This demonstrates that Muslim organizations in Denmark.37 in any mediation process, the potential spoi- lers must be dealt with as early as possible; Danish society has a tradition of satire, where otherwise they may well undermine the there is a great tolerance for making fun of is- whole process. In this specific case, they pre- sues and people. Religion and respect for reli- vented a deepening of the Danish-Muslim gious values are generally not regarded as rea- dialogue that started in Geneva, and thereby sons for restricting the freedom of expression, they hindered finding a genuine solution to and, as Denmark is a liberal-democratic state, the crisis. the government has little or no control over the media and press, which have a relatively strong influence. The attitude and behavior

36 They included for instance: (a) to distance the official Danish po- of the Danish government were in some re- sition from that of Jyllands-Posten and to take measures of ap- spects motivated by political interests. It peasement expressing goodwill; (b) to establish legislation that protects the rights of Muslims and the image of Islam; (c) to rec- could not allow itself to give in under the ognize Islam as a component of religious landscape in Denmark pressure from Muslim stakeholders to rein in and work for it to be seen in practice on the same footing as other religions; (d) to establish an observatory funded by official au- thorities to monitor the realization of respect for Muslims and 37 E-mail to Simon Mason from Stine Lehmann-Larsen, 2 May their religion in the political, economic, cultural, and educational 2010. See also: Lehmann-Larsen, Stine. “One group’s folly fields; (e) to organize an international conference on dialogue doesn’t represent an entire country. A Danish perspective on re- among civilizations in Copenhagen or in another European coun- cent events concerning the Muslim world” in: Daily News Egypt, try chosen by common agreement; (f) to withdraw Danish sol- 5 November 2006, diers from Iraq and Afghanistan. http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=3777. 7

The “Face of Mohammed” Cartoons in Denmark

the media. First, this would be regarded by political and religious movements, and civil the Danish population as a betrayal of the ba- society may take the same positions, but dif- sic democratic principles underpinning Da- fer in terms of interests and motivation. nish society. Second, it could have been seen Many of the Muslim demonstrators had not as a gesture of encouragement towards those even seen the cartoons. who wished to stem the right to criticize, The intensity and scale of the protest in the scrutinize, and express their opinions. Third- Muslim world cannot be explained exclusive- ly, the legitimacy of the government’s consti- ly by manipulation on the part of some state tutional power was based on a coalition con- actors, however. The main reason is that sisting of the Liberal and Conservative Parties Muslims felt profoundly injured in their with support from the nationalist Danish faith, and the protection of faith stands is the People’s Party. The latter would never agree most essential requirement of Sharia. In addi- to censor or criticize anti-Muslim sentiments tion, the emotional significance of the Proph- expressed in the media. From the Danish et Mohammed’s special status within the People’s Party’s perspective, these sentiments Muslim collective consciousness is as impor- constituted not racism but rather “totally or- tant as this legal requirement. Even non- dinary, commonplace attitudes that Danes religious Muslims felt that the cartoons were 38 express every day”.37F Nevertheless, high- disrespectful of their culture. These points ranking members of the Danish People’s Par- will be elaborated in more detail below. ty were accused of racist statements and 39 found guilty by the Danish High Court.38F Many Muslims perceived the cartoons as ex- pressions of disrespect and aggression: The On the Muslim side, two types of reaction to collection of 12 editorial cartoons generated a the Mohamed cartoons can be identified: huge reaction because it concentrated, in a The first advised that this kind of behavior few sketches, all the clichés that Muslims see should be simply ignored, because any kind propagated in the West about Islam: terror- of reaction would only give the other side free ism, misogyny, obscurantism, fanaticism, etc. publicity, while the second argued that Mus- More than that, many Muslims felt that the lims must show a strong unified reaction in Western official and media discourse will not order to signal that such “offenses” are unac- acknowledge that they can be hurt. There is a ceptable. The latter trend recommended the profound sense of injustice within Muslim use of legitimate/legal proportionate tools societies and a feeling that the Muslim com- such as economic boycotts, peaceful demon- munity (Ummah) is being besieged and tar- strations, petitions, etc. Obviously, however, geted from all parts, militarily (Afghanistan, there is always a minority of people that join Iraq, Somalia, Chechnya), economically this kind of protest with an inclination to (looting of oil and other natural resources), resort to violent means. culturally (Western interference in the educa- During the crisis provoked by the Danish tional programs of many Muslim countries) cartoons, the second approach dominated, as and symbolically (defamation of Islam). In many Muslims were politicized and mobi- the perception of many Muslims, the Israel- lized over the issue. It was helped by state Palestine conflict epitomizes this perceived agents that may have shared the same posi- injustice, as they see Western states adopting tions with the masses, but not necessarily the a partisan stand and granting full and uncon- same interests and needs, since governments, ditional support to Israel. Moreover, the Muslim minorities in the West 38 “Racism ruling”, in: The Copenhagen Post, 20 June 2003. 39 Lehmann-Larsen, “One group’s folly doesn’t represent an entire are perceived by Muslims as victimized country”. 8

Mediating Tensions over Islam in Denmark, Holland, and Switzerland

communities, especially after 9/11. Further- the conflict” to act as a mediator, as shown in more, Western governments are perceived in the following analysis: the Muslim world, particularly in Arab coun- Focus on interests and processes: The joint deci- tries, as the main supporters of repressive dic- sion-making process between the newspaper tatorships and corrupt rulers that ruin their Politiken and a group of Muslims in 2010 countries and prevent the emergence of real lead to an out-of-court agreement. This democracies. They are hence considered to be shows how such processes can lead to conflict complicit with the widespread human rights resolution, if legal means and the instrumen- violations, as well as being responsible for talization of an issue are avoided or mini- material and intellectual poverty in the Arab mized. Had the Danish government been less world. A contradiction is observed between partial in this conflict, it could have sup- the Western countries’ declared principles of ported such mediative approaches much ear- rule of law and human rights and their for- lier on. The mediation effort that began in eign policy practices in the Arab world. Geneva in 2006 could also have led to a reso- Commonly cited examples are the uncondi- lution of the conflict had it be followed up tional support to the Saudi and Egyptian re- and deepened. It is noteworthy that it was gimes and the non-acceptance of the election hindered by people on both sides of the con- results in Algeria and Palestine. flict, who thought a “quick-fix” solution and Finally, there is a widespread perception held appeasing words would solve the problem. by many Muslims that the “West” uses Politicization and power: Prime Minister double standards in applying its values and Rasmussen, although the leader of the liberal principles. In April 2003, a Danish caricatur- party, headed a right-wing coalition and de- Jyllands-Posten ist submitted to the newspaper pended on the support of the Danish a series of unsolicited cartoons offering a light- People’s Party. Had he entered into negotia- hearted take on the resurrection of Christ. tions with the Muslim ambassadors, he may They were rejected, the Sunday editor saying: have endangered his right-wing coalition, a Jyllands-Posten’s “I don’t think readers will party that had politicized the issue of foreign- enjoy the drawings. As a matter of fact, I ers and Islam. On the question of power, the think they will provoke an outcry. Therefore 40 imams partly increased their power by inter- 39F Jyl- I will not use them.” The attitude of nationalizing the issue. This illustrates that all lands-Posten Sunday editor is a common prac- 41 groups, Muslim and non-Muslim, are not tice in the press, 40F leading to the question self-contained in one country, but may use why it was not used in the case of the Mo- international allies to strengthen their posi- hammed cartoons. tion if mutually acceptable outcomes are Discussion blocked within a given context. The government of Denmark did not take Culturalization: The conflict seemed partly the underlying interests of the involved actors due to cultural differences, as the values of seriously enough, nor did it support interest- “freedom of speech” were pitted against the based negotiations early enough. The gov- value of “non-defamation of religion”. How- ernment was too much involved and “part of ever, culture was also used as a weapon in another conflict, i.e., tensions over integra- tion and assimilation of foreigners in Den- 40 Reynolds, Paul. “Cartoons: Divisions and inconsistencies”, in: mark, where “Muslim” was a marker of the BBC News, 13 February 2006, “other” and the “foreign”. Furthermore, even http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4708216.stm. 41 Jenkins, Simon. “These cartoons don’t defend free speech, they before the printing of the cartoons, there had threaten it”. In: The Sunday Times, 5 February 2006. 9

The Dutch Fitna Film

been a feeling amongst Muslims both in political success, Wilders lives under police Denmark and internationally of being treated protection and received a court summons in disrespectfully by the “West”, so that the car- 2010 on charges that his film incited hatred toons seemed more to trigger the escalation and was discriminatory.47 of tensions, rather than being the main cause His plan to make a film occurred in an al- of it. ready polarized context: In 2002, the right- Using legal means: Muslims in Denmark wing politician Pim Fortuyn was shot by a sought to use legal means, although they were Dutch animal rights activist, who said he did of limited use in solving the conflict. Various it to stop Fortuyn from exploiting Muslims as members of the Danish People’s Party were “scapegoats”. 48 In 2004, Theo van Gogh was tried and found guilty of racist statements by shot dead by a Dutch-Moroccan citizen, after the Danish High Court, even if this seems having made the film “Submission” together not to have had a great impact on the party’s with Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Hirsi Ali was born in policies. The conflict of values and symbols Somalia, emigrated to the Netherlands, and could not be solved through the legal frame- had to live under protection of the Dutch au- work. thorities after the assassination of van Gogh.49 The title of the ten-minute “Submission” The Dutch Fitna Film film is a word play since it refers to Islam, lit- erally “submission” (to God), but the film In November 2007, Geert Wilders an- addresses the issue of “submission of women” nounced his plans to make a short film to in Muslim countries and shows an actress show that Islam’s holy book is “a fascist wearing a transparent veil with her naked book” that “incites people to murder”.42 The body painted with verses from the . plan resulted in unrest both within Holland43 and in Muslim countries, including Afghanis- As soon as Wilders announced his intention tan, Iran, and Pakistan44, yet to a lesser de- to make an anti-Islam film, the Dutch gree than the Danish cartoons. Wilders’ film government distanced itself by stating that and his have helped to in- such “provocations” had no place in the 50 crease his political popularity. In the parlia- Dutch tradition of tolerance. It tried to dis- 51 mentary elections in 2010, Wilders received suade Wilders from publishing his film. 15 per cent of the votes and became the third The European Union (EU) expressed similar largest party in parliament. 45 Wilders aims to concerns, noting that reignited tensions with ban the Quran from Holland, prevent immi- Muslims would have “important repercus- gration from Muslim countries, and fine sions” not only for the Netherlands, but for 52 people wearing head scarves.46 Despite his other EU countries. Other international reactions to “Fitna” consisted of condem-

42 “EU ministers express concern about anti-Islam film”, in: ABC News, 27 January 2008. 47 “Surge for Dutch anti-Islam Freedom Party”, in: BBC News, 10 http:// www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/01/27/2147371.htm. June 2010. See also the analysis by Geraldine Coughlan on the 43 “Dutch protests against Islam film”, in: BBC News, 22 March same page. 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/europe/10271153.stm. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7309838.stm. 48 “Fortuyn killed ‘to protect Muslims’”, The Daily Telegraph, 28 44 “Dutch Islam film ‘nearly ready’”, in: BBC News, 28 February March 2003. 2008. 49 Hirsi Ali, Ayaan. Infidel. New York: Free Press, 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7268618.stm. 50 “EU ministers express concern about anti-Islam film”, in: ABC 45 Haubrich, Rainer. “Geert Wilders drängt in die Regierung”, in: News, 27 January 2008. Welt Online, 11 June 2010, http://www.welt.de/die- 51 “Dutch Islam film ‘nearly ready’”, in: BBC News, 28 February welt/politik/article7997842/Geert-Wilders-draengt-in-die- 2008. Regierung.html. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7268618.stm. 46 “Geert Wilders on the BBC: Video and Picture”, in: Geert Wild- 52 Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “European Union supports ers Webblog, 8 March 2010. http://www.geertwilders.nl. Dutch government’s standpoint on Fitna”, 29 March 2008. 10

Mediating Tensions over Islam in Denmark, Holland, and Switzerland

62 nation in the international community by the air Wilders’ film. 61F Over six million people secretaries-general of the UN and NATO,53 watched the English and Dutch versions 63 statements of several Muslim scholars against when they appeared online.62F Only a few Wilders,54 and attempts by Southeast Asian hours after the film appeared on the internet, and Muslim countries to censor or ban the Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende 55 film. 54F Several Muslim organizations and released a press statement in both Dutch and political parties organized boycotts against English criticizing the “irresponsibility” of 56 64 Dutch products, 55F while numerous Muslim showing the film. 63F He said that the film 65 associations urged Muslims in the Nether- wrongly equated Islam with violence.64F lands to stay calm and not allow themselves The short film was regarded by many, even 57 to be provoked.56F several Dutch Muslim organizations, as On 27 March 2008, Wilders’ “Fitna” – an “much less inflammatory” than expected. word meaning (religious) ordeal, The film contained “nothing new”, although strife, or discord – was released. The 16- the images were “repulsive”. Worries about minute film depicts Islam as the enemy of riots were thus considerably reduced. Various 58 freedom.57F According to Wilders, the film Dutch persons filed an official complaint 66 was not so much about Muslims as about the against the film after its release.65F However, 59 Quran and Islam. 58F In his view, Islam was an to date, experts and a Dutch court did not 60 “ordeal” for Western democracies.59F He fur- find “Fitna” discriminatory in the legal sense, 67 ther said that Europe was facing a “clash of even if the case is still pending.66F Despite the civilizations” and that the time had come to mild reactions to the film, the terrorist threat 61 be “intolerant in defense of freedom”.60F level, which had been raised in early March Wilders’ “Fitna” was published on the inter- in response to the national and international net, as no Dutch broadcasters were willing to unrest, was kept at “substantial”, the second- 68 highest level in the Netherlands. 67F 53 UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called Fitna “offensively an- ti-Islamic”, as quoted in “Indonesia bans ‘anti-Islam’ film”, in: Discussion BBC News, 1 April 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia- pacific/7323984.stm. NATO’s Secretary General Jaap de Hoop The reaction of the Netherlands government Scheffer feared that the airing of the film would have repercus- sions for troops in Afghanistan. “Nato fears over Dutch Islam in dealing with the crisis was very different to film”, in: BBC News, 3 March 2008. that of the Danish government. In the fol- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7274259.stm. 54 “Dutch Islam film website ‘shut’”, in: BBC News, 23 March 2008. 62 Isherwood, Julian. “Danish PM attacks Islam comments”, in: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7310439.stm. BBC News, 19 March 2008. 55 Gottlieb, Sebastian. “Islamic countries want Dutch to ban Wild- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7304450.stm. ers movie”, in: Radio Netherlands, 31 March 2008. 63 Wilders, Geert. Fitna: the movie. 56 Traufetter, Gerald. “Koranfeindliches Video veröffentlicht – Pro- 64 Crouch, Gregory. “A Dutch Antagonist of Islam Waits for His test gegen Rechtspopulist Wilders”, in: SPIEGEL Online, 27 Premiere”, in: The New York Times, 22 March 2008. March 2008. http://www.spiegel.de/politik/aus- http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/22/world/europe/22wilders.ht land/0,1518,543855,00.html. ml. 57 “EU ministers express concern about anti-Islam film”, in: ABC 65 Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Government’s reaction to News, 27 January 2008. Wilders’ film”, 27 March 2008. 58 Graphic images from the bomb attacks on London in July 2005 http://www.minbuza.nl/en/news/newsflashes,2008/03/Governme and Madrid in March 2004 are shown, interspersed with verses nt-s-reaction-to-Wilders--film.html. from the Quran. Pictures of a woman being stoned, scenes from a 66 Moore, Molly. “Online, a Violent View of Islam”, in: The Wash- beheading, and images of the Dutch director Theo van Gogh, ington Post, 28 March 2008 www.washingtonpost.com. who was murdered by a radical Muslim in 2004, are also in- 67 Nonetheless, Wilders mistakenly used a rapper’s photograph as cluded. the photo of Theo van Gogh’s murderer and a cartoon – depict- 59 “Dutch Islam film website ‘shut’”, in: BBC News, 23 March ing Mohammed with a bomb in his turban – by a Danish car- 2008. toonist without permission. On these grounds, the film was later 60 Wilders, Geert. Fitna: the movie. revised and reinstated on the internet. Clark, Andy. “Relief over http://www.themoviefitna.com/fitna-the-movie. Dutch MP’s anti-Islam film”, in: BBC News, 28 March 2008. 61 “Interview with Geert Wilders in Hard Talk on 22 March http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7318363.stm. 2006”, in: BBC News, 22 March 2006. 68 “‘Substantial’ Dutch terror risk”, in: BBC News, 6 March 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/4833890.stm. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7287973.stm. 11

The Swiss Vote to Ban Minarets

lowing, we analyze how the Dutch govern- Politicization: While in the Danish case the ment used elements of a mediative approach: politicizing actor – the Danish People’s Party Focusing on interests and process: Already be- – was part of the government, in the Dutch fore the film was publicly available, the gov- case, the politicizing actor was not. This ernment clearly distanced itself from the film enabled the government to create a mediation and entered into dialog with Wilders. The space. Wilders successfully politicized the Dutch government feared the film would topic of Islam, but this did not prevent the “incite hatred” and damage the political and government from adopting a different ap- economic interests of the Netherlands. In or- proach and distancing itself from Wilders. der to avoid being caught in an already Culturalization: Cultural differences seemed blocked debate on conflicting values, the to be used against the “foreign” in the Dutch government never focused its arguments on case, rather than specific values being at the rights and freedoms, but instead made a cause of a specific conflict. The film linked point of the irresponsibility in distributing terrorism with the increase in Muslim popu- such an offensive piece of work and empha- lation in Holland using sentences from the sized the need for dialog instead of provoca- Quran, allowing Wilders to instrumentalize tion “as a means of bridging the differences the topic of Islam in relation to immigration. between cultures”.69 By focusing on process Using legal means: Similar to the Danish case, and communication, the Dutch government legal means were used, but it is not yet clear strengthened the middle ground, and gave whether the film is discriminatory in the legal less cause for Muslim groups to radicalize and sense, as Wilders is facing trial in 2010 on politicize the issue. It seems that the media charges of inciting hatred and discrimination. agreed with this line of argumentation. The media, however, acted responsibly and in When the Dutch movie “Fitna” was released, accordance with its own ethics, and the film the majority of Muslim groups chose to ig- was not distributed on television. nore this provocation, rather than react to it and thus escalating it. Obviously, Muslim The Swiss Vote to Ban Minarets public opinion had been affected to some ex- The initiative to ban the construction of new tent by the cartoon crisis and the impact of 71 minarets70F was launched after local tensions protestors’ actions at the international level, had arisen about projects to build minarets, and the fact that demonstrators had in some 72 such as in Wangen bei Olten, 71F Langenthal, cases been “used” by their governments. The respect shown by the Dutch government was returned by a majority of the Muslims across 71 Switzerland currently has four minarets, 200 Muslim places of the globe. Some counter-“Fitna” movies were prayer, and a Muslim population of about 400’000 (5 per cent of the population). For more about Muslims in Switzerland and mi- produced by Muslim bloggers and published narets, see Haenni, Patrick/Lathion, Stéphane. Les Minarets de la on the internet, 70 some of them using humor, Discorde. Religioscope & Infolio, 2009 ; and Gross, An- dreas/Krebs, Fredi/Stohler Martin. The Minaret Initiative: Be- which contributed to deescalating the situa- tween Provocation and Confusion. St-Ursanne: Editions Le tion. Doubs, 2009. 72 The first case of the minaret in Wangen bei Olten is illustrative. The Turkish-Cultural Association had submitted plans to build a six- to seven-meter high minaret on 10 January 2005. After being rejected for procedural reasons at the local and cantonal levels, the 69 Verhagen, Maxime. “Commentary” [in Arabic], in: Ash-Sharq al- permit was granted on 12 July 2006 by the cantonal authorities, Awsat, 30 March 2008. with various restrictions, e.g., that there could be no calls for 70 See, for example, “Schism”, by Saudi blogger Raed Al-Saeed. prayer from the minaret. Among others, citizens living in the ad- Available at: jacent area submitted an appeal, which went through the cantonal http://blaise.blog.mongenie.com/index.php?idblogp=619477, or and federal instances, but was finally rejected on 4 July 2007 (Tri- “Beyond Fitna”, by the Iranian NGO “Islam & Christianity”. bunal federal, {T 0/2}1P.26/2007 /ggs, “Urteil vom 4. Juli 2007”. Available at: http://www.ngoic.com. http://jumpcgi.bger.ch/cgi- 12

Mediating Tensions over Islam in Denmark, Holland, and Switzerland

76 and Wil. After a group of activists had failed Churches, the Swiss Evangelical Alliance, 75F in their attempt to leverage existing building and the Swiss Federation of Jewish Com- 77 regulations to prevent the construction of munities76F were all opposed to the initiative. minarets, an initiative was launched on the The Federal Council advanced four argu- 1 May 2007 that aimed to amend the Federal ments in its recommendation to the Swiss cit- 78 Constitution with the sentence: “The con- izens to reject the initiative 77F : struction of minarets is forbidden”. The ac- 1. The initiative violates religious freedom: tivists were organized in the “Egerkingen The initiative limits the freedom of reli- Committee”, consisting of politicians from gion in a discriminatory manner, as it is the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, the larg- directed exclusively against Muslims in est faction in parliament, and the Federal Switzerland. Democratic Union, a small conservative, evangelical party. About 115,000 signatures 2. The initiative contradicts core values of the were gathered and submitted to the Federal Constitution: The ban on the construction 73 Chancellery in July 2008.72F of minarets is contrary to the provisions of the Federal Constitution and breaches According to the Egerkingen Committee, the provisions of fundamental human minarets symbolize a religious-political claim rights conventions, e.g., freedom of reli- of power that threatens religious peace in gion and the injunction against discrimi- Switzerland, and challenges fundamental nation contained in the European Con- rights guaranteed by the Swiss Constitu- vention on Human Rights (ECHR) and 74 tion.73F Banning minarets, the committee ar- the International Covenant on Civil and gued, is a symbolic way of stopping the al- Political Rights (ICCPR II). leged “islamization” of Switzerland, as embo- died especially by sharia law and the call of 3. The initiative is ineffective in fighting ex- prayers, according to their slogan “no mina- tremism: The initiative will not put a stop 75 ret, no muezzin, no sharia”.74F To counter ar- to the growing influence of Islam in Swit- guments against the initiative, the committee zerland, and does not represent “… ap- argued that minarets have no religious signi- propriate means of preventing and com- ficance, and not having a minaret does not bating violence on the part of extremist prevent anybody from exercising their reli- fundamentalist groups”. The existing gion freely, as many mosques do not have a “Federal and cantonal regulations on minaret anyway. both domestic security and non-Swiss in- dividuals already provide for effective The Federal Council, the majority of the measures to prevent such activities and members of parliament, the center and left protect Switzerland's constitutional foun- political parties, the Roman Catholic dations.” Church, the Federation of Protestant

76 Cimino Richard. “Christian-Muslim relations: Swiss Evangelicals criticize minaret ban”, in: Religioscope Institute, 1 March 2010. bin/JumpCGI?id=04.07.2007_1P.26/2007). In January 2009, http://religion.info/english/articles/article_466.shtml. In some the minaret was built. cases, however, there was a gap between the official position of 73 Initiative gegen Minarette eingereicht. In: Swissinfo, 8. Juli the institution and their basis, e.g. with some of the evangelical 2008. churches. http://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/Initiative_gegen_Minarette_eingerei 77 “Minaret debate angers Swiss muslims”, Ii: Euronews, 19 No- cht.html?cid=6784116 vember 2010. http://www.euronews.net/2009/11/19/minaret- 74 Wobmann, Walter. Ja zur Volksinitiative “Gegen den Bau von debate-angers-swiss-muslims/ Minaretten”, p. 3. 78 Federal Council opposes building ban on minarets; Opinion on http://www.minarette.ch/pdf/Pressekonferenz- the popular initiative against the construction of minarets. Bern, Votum_Wobmann.pdf. Wobmann is a member of the Swiss 27.08.2008. People’s Party and head of the Egerkingen Committee. http://www.admin.ch/aktuell/00089/index.html?lang=en&msg- 75 http://www.minarette.ch/ id=20878. 13

The Swiss Vote to Ban Minarets

4. The initiative endangers peace between reli- fied dialog between religious and cultural gions and hinders integration: The Federal groups and the authorities.81 Council argued that the initiative would be a threat to peace between religions in Explanations Switzerland and an obstacle to integra- According to the VOX82 polls after the vote, tion. It would damage Switzerland’s 80 per cent of the left-leaning electorate standing in the world, which could have a voted “no”, while the right-wing voters were negative impact on the security of Swiss in favor to an equal degree. The key element facilities and the interests of the Swiss was therefore the political center, which economy. voted “yes” in a 2/1 ratio. Three cantons in The initiative was put to a vote on the 29 the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and November 2009, and accepted by 57.5 per one in the German-speaking part, voted cent of the Swiss voters, with a high voter against the initiative. In general, the “yes” turnout of 53.4 per cent.79 The result was vote was higher in the German-speaking parts unexpected, probably even by the promoters of Switzerland. People without religious affil- of the initiative. iation rejected the initiative. There were no significant gender differences in the vote. The On the same day as the results were made level of education had an impact: The pro- public, the Swiss Federal Council issued a portion of “no” votes was higher with people press statement clarifying the implications, who had higher levels of formal education. with an Arabic version on its website: “A ma- The main argument given by those who jority of the Swiss people and the cantons voted “yes” was “to set a sign against the have adopted the popular initiative against spreading of Islam and against the societal the construction of minarets. The Federal model propagated by Islam”. Every sixth per- Council respects this decision. Consequently son voted “yes” as a reaction to the “discrim- the construction of new minarets in Switzer- ination of Christian churches in Islamic land is no longer permitted. The four existing countries”. Only 15 per cent of the “yes”- minarets will remain. It will also be possible sayers offered specific criticism of Muslims in to continue to construct mosques. Muslims Switzerland as their reason for their vote. in Switzerland are able to practice their reli- Thus, the vote cannot be seen as a general re- gion alone or in community with others, and jection of Muslims living in Switzerland. 80 live according to their beliefs just as before.” Those who opposed the proposition said that Federal Councillor Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf their support for basic rights as laid out in the said the vote was the outcome of fears in the Constitution, namely and population about extremist tendencies among non-discrimination, were the main reasons Muslims. She stated clearly that the Federal for their “no” vote. Council did not believe that the vote to ban minarets was a useful approach for dealing The weak campaign of the center and left with extremist groups and called for intensi- parties against the minaret ban ahead of the vote, as well as the almost total absence of Muslim voices in the entire process, were fur- ther factors explaining the “yes” vote. How- 79 Mayer, Jean-François. “Religioscope Analysis: A majority of ever, the German and French parts of Swit- Swiss voters decide to ban the building of new minarets”, in: Re- ligioscope Institute, 1 December 2009. http://religion.info/english/articles/article_455.shtml. 81 Ibid. 80 Swiss FDFA. “‘Yes’ to popular initiative against the construction 82 “Analyse der eidgenössischen Abstimmungen vom 29. November of minarets”, 29 November 2009. 2009”. http://www.admin.ch/aktuell/00089/index.html?lang=en&msg- http://www.polittrends.ch/abstimmungen/abstimmungsanalysen/ id=30430. vox-analysen/2009-11-29_VoxD.pdf. 14

Mediating Tensions over Islam in Denmark, Holland, and Switzerland

zerland differed in this respect. In the French- do when the Swiss rights of direct democracy speaking part of the country, the debate was lead to laws that contradict Swiss commit- active and focused mainly on the aesthetics of ments to international law. The ban of mina- minarets in the Swiss landscape. In the Ger- rets may contradict the Swiss commitments man part of Switzerland, the debate was not to the Human Rights Convention, for exam- over minarets per se. It was much more gen- ple. An appeal challenging the ban has been 85 erally about the presence of Muslims in Swit- submitted to the European Court. 84F Until zerland, treating the minaret as a surrogate now, the Swiss practice has been to adapt any for many unrelated topics such as violence by new law (that results from an initiative) to in- adolescents from the Balkans. The poster of ternational law only in the implementation the Swiss People’s Party (a woman in black phase. This is very difficult in the case of the burka, standing next to a Swiss map, with minaret ban, as there is a very little room for minarets piercing the map) also played on the interpretation. The Federal Court can only fear of the Islamization of Switzerland. In respond to an appeal against the new consti- some cities, billboard advertisers refused to tutional clause once a specific decree prohi- rent out space for the poster, which they biting the building of a minaret based on this found distasteful. This difference between the clause has been issued. This comes very late French- and German-speaking parts of the in the entire process. country partly explains the larger proportion Therefore, a debate has been launched about of “yes” votes in the German speaking part of 86 the criteria85F for deciding on when an initia- Switzerland. tive is to be assessed as inadmissible, and Many topics came together during the pre- processes for deciding this question at a much vote campaign: an ideological criticism of Is- earlier stage, in other words, before signatures lam, fear of immigrants, the perceived “un- are collected, or before the initiative is sub- just” status of women in Islamic practice and mitted to a vote. The present situation leads law, the negative image of Islam projected by to contradictions in law and a confusion the international media, and the ongoing dis- within the population. One suggestion, for pute between Switzerland and Libya over the example, is that an initiative will not be sub- arrest of Hannibal Gaddafi.83 While the in- mitted to a vote until it has been checked for itiators communicated very actively (conti- compatibility with Swiss commitments under nuous presence in the media, constant partic- the European Human Rights convention and 87 ipation in the public debate, intensive use of UN treaties. 86F If deemed incompatible, the posters, etc.), the opposing voices were al- initiative would have to be declared null and most inexistent, not least of all because this void, or any such international legal com- camp expected the initiative to be rejected, as the inaccurate pre-vote polls indicated. 84

85 “Swiss Minaret Ban in European Court”. In: IslamOnline.net, 17 Reactions December 2009. http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=12 At the domestic level, one of the open ques- 60258076124&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout. tions being debated after the vote is what to 86 At the moment, contravention of “mandatory international law” (prohibition of torture, genocide, slavery, and sending people back to countries where they could experience these practices 83 Mayer J F, Religioscope Analysis: A Majority of Swiss Voters De- (“non-refoulement”)) is the only criterion for declaring a popular cide to Ban the Building of New Minarets. initiative invalid. The debate is thus about extending the criteria 84 Longchamp, Claude/Golder, Lukas/Agosti, Stefan/Kocher, Jo- to include violation of basic tenets of international law, including nas/Ratelband, Silvia. “2. Vorabstimmungsanalyse zu den eidg. the core of rights under ECHR and ICCPR II. Schoch, Claudia. Abstimmungen vom 29. November 2009”, in: GFS, Berne, 17 “Das Volk ist souverän, aber nicht ungebunden”, in: Neue Zür- November 2009. cher Zeitung, 19 April 2010. http://www.gfsbern.ch/publikationen/fberichte.php?showid=346 87 Schoch, Claudia. “Das Volk ist souverän, aber nicht ungebun- &lang=de. den”, in: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 19 April 2010. 15

The Swiss Vote to Ban Minarets

mitments would have to be annulled before increasingly racist. The headline of an Alge- submitting such an issue for a vote. rian newspaper, “Four minarets rock Switzer- 91 The international reactions to the Swiss ban land and tear down its neutrality”, is illustr- on minarets included strong EU and UN ative of this concern. condemnations of the result of the vote, as Discussion well as clear statements from various Euro- pean states. 88 There were reactions all over the In contrast to the Danish and Dutch cases, Muslim world, from Indonesia to Morocco, which involved the actions of discrete groups, but this time, from official institutions and in Switzerland, the majority of the popula- figures rather than in a large scale from the tion voted for a change in Constitution that street. Although there were demonstrations was regarded as discriminatory by its own on the streets, and the Swiss flag was burnt in government and a large part of the interna- Islamabad,89 the reactions were more mod- tional community. To what extent did me- erate, due to the way the Swiss government diative approaches of the Swiss government handled it, but also because as a symbol, the help to ease tensions, and which factors may minaret is far less sacred to Muslims than the play a role in future developments? person of the Prophet Mohammed. Focus on process: The weak non-official reac- The reactions registered in the Muslim world tion in the Arab world can mainly be ex- after the vote reflected a lack of understand- plained by the fact that from the start the ing, a sense of concern, and firm condemna- Swiss government was opposed to the initia- tion. In a few cases, there were calls for Mus- tive and made this stance known. The prin- lims to withdraw their financial assets from ciple of focusing on process and communica- Swiss banks and for a boycott of these banks tion towards both sides was adopted, allow- in the Muslim world. Others called for the ing for a mediative approach. Geneva-based UN bodies to be transferred to In a country like Switzerland that does not another city, such as Doha. Further voices have a common language or ethnicity, at- called for boycotts of Swiss goods, services, tempts to unite the country and create a companies, and tourism. Muslims were also common identity against a foreign “religious- urged not to overreact or react in an impro- political symbol of power” is an obvious but per way.90 The response was thus limited dangerous strategy. Besides processes to deal mainly to an outcry in the media. There were with concerns related to Islam, therefore, statements that reflected an increased percep- what is also required are processes for ad- tion in many Muslim countries that Switzer- dressing tensions over fundamentally differ- land had lost its neutrality and was becoming ent conceptions of the civic nature of the country and the role of ethnic, cultural, and

88 Dacey, Jessica. “Swiss Minaret Ban sends Ripples Worldwide”, religious public identity. in: Swissinfo, 30 November 2009. http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/index/Swiss_minaret_ban_sends_rip Focus on interests: The main motivation given ples_worldwide.html?cid=7793976. 89 “Nun geht es los mit den Anti-Schweiz-Demos”, in: 20 Minuten, by the “yes” voters was “to set a sign against 17 January 2010 the spreading of Islam and against the societal http://www.20min.ch/news/ausland/story/10767611. In a few cases, street protests were registered, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa model propagated by Islam”. The minaret and Asia, for example in Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire Sudan, Maurita- vote was a symbolic vote. There is no evi- nia, and Pakistan. A number of observers [who?] regard these demonstrations as being orchestrated by some NGOs financed by dence that mosques without a minaret are less the Libyan government in an attempted retaliation against Swit- zerland after the crisis over Hannibal Gaddafi. 90 “Muslim Scholars Blast Swiss Minarets Ban.” 91 “Arab Press Say Swiss Neutrality is Failing”, in: Swissinfo, 9 De- http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&pagena cember 2009. me=Zone-English-News/NWELayout&cid=1258880680406 http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/index.html?cid=7852252. 16

Mediating Tensions over Islam in Denmark, Holland, and Switzerland

likely to try to spread sharia law than mos- growing realization of the negative perception ques with minarets,92 and there is no evidence of Switzerland by Muslims around the world that banning minarets will have any impact after the minaret ban, there may be stronger on the situation of Muslim women in Swit- advocacy now against further escalating con- zerland. Past permits to build minarets in flicts related to Islam, as this could create Switzerland already prohibited the use of the negative economic impacts for Switzerland. minaret for the muezzin’s call to prayer, so In order to maintain its economic growth, here, too, the vote has not changed anything. Switzerland also depends on foreign work- ers.94 Switzerland must therefore find ways to What are the main concerns, and how can deal with cultural diversity. The topic could these be dealt with constructively in the fu- become security-relevant, for example, if ture? One of the main concerns of people groups aiming to portray Switzerland as anti- seeking to “set a sign against Islamization” Islam should kidnap Swiss citizens abroad. seems to be the fear of Islam as a religion that legitimizes violence. Violence and counter- If other countries in Europe further instru- violence has been used in the name of “Is- mentalize the topic, e.g., with a ban on head lam” domestically and at the international scarves, this could detract attention from level by some political movements. In some Switzerland. At the domestic level, the “iden- cases these groups are “genuine” in the sense tity” debate seems central. The weak partici- that they have chosen to use Islam in this pation of Swiss Muslims in the public arena manner, in other cases the groups are fabri- and the lack of involvement in associations, cated by oppressive regimes to legitimize their politics, and the media deprive them of the counter-terrorist efforts. Most world religions opportunity to be seen and heard, and to in- have been used to legitimize violence as well teract with the rest of Swiss society, limiting as non-violence, including both Islam and the space for negotiations. Christianity. The challenge, therefore, is not Tensions over the place of Islam in Switzer- based on the religion per se, but depends on land are not over, as debates over banning the how it is used or misused. To ease the fears of or the issue of mandatory swimming Islam or Christianity being used to legitimize lessons for girls and boys in public schools are violence, greater efforts are needed by Mus- ongoing. Rather than settling such issues lims and Christians to argue for using reli- through symbolic initiatives that do not ad- gion, be it Islam or Christianity, as a source 93 dress concrete issues, interest-based negotia- and inspiration of peace making and plural- tions would be more appropriate. Such nego- ism, rather than as a weapon against “the axis tiation processes on the local, cantonal, and of evil” or the “demonic West”. Islam is fully federal levels will become more feasible, with compatible with Swiss laws and the Constitu- a greater will to engage in dialog on both the tion, if believers interpret it in this manner, as Muslim and non-Muslim sides. Once more the large majority of the Swiss Muslims do. people are aware of the economic and securi- Politicization and power: Economic and secu- ty dangers of instrumentalizing Islam, the in- rity factors, as well as political developments clination towards dialog will probably also within Switzerland and Europe, are likely to increase. be decisive in determining whether and how the topic of Islam will be further politicized or not. Due to the economic interests and the 94 Panizzon, Marion. “Mobilität der Arbeitskräfte: Eine neue Di- mension des Migrationsrechts”, in: UniPress no. 136, 2008. “Schweiz wächst rasant – dank Migranten”, in: Basler Zeitung, 26 92 Antonsich, “Mapping the Swiss referendum”, pp. 57–62. February 2009. 93 Easwaran, Eknath. Nonviolent Soldier of Islam: Badshah Khan, http://bazonline.ch/schweiz/standard/Schweiz-waechst-rasant-- A Man to Match His Mountains. California: Nilgiri Press, 1999. dank-Migranten/story/23344770. 17

Conclusions

Culturalization: Parties cannot politicize and strumentalize an issue on each side are play- instrumentalize an issue if there are no under- ing into each other’s hands. On the other lying concerns in a population. Thus, the hand, appeasing words and ignoring real analysis of the minaret vote as a simple politi- problems that have to be dealt with is also cization by a political party is too simple. not the solution, as it prevents in-depth dis- While Islam seems to have been used as a cussions and the creation of a space of joint symbol of the “foreign”, lack of familiarity transformation. Those who want to deal with with the value system of Swiss Muslims is underlying interests and concerns and easing likely also to have played a role. tensions, be they Muslim or non-Muslim, must therefore also join efforts to become Using legal means: The debate about minarets more effective. Rather than condemning rad- was characterized by a convoluted process of icals, the middle ground has to be streng- legal means involving local, cantonal, and thened. federal courts, a change of the Constitution through the initiative, and now an appeal to Social groups and culture are not homogen- the ECHR. Legal means, e.g., banning the ous. The acknowledgement that Muslims are hijab, will be insufficient to deal with the un- just as heterogeneous as non-Muslims is one derlying concerns of Muslims and non- key step towards undermining the perception Muslims. Nevertheless, the ongoing debate of “us” versus “them”. Joint efforts between about legal criteria and the correct timing to Muslims and non-Muslims with similar val- determine the admissibility of an initiative is ues can serve to highlight this fact, and to essential, as the present situation is confusing broaden the mediation space required to deal and can lead to a contradictory legal situa- with any tensions that arise. tion. Politicization of issues that leads to con- Legal means can be useful in certain cases. tradictory legal frameworks challenges the However, they have their limitations, as they consensus-based nature of the Swiss political often lead to a clash of positions and “win- system. lose” outcomes. Mediation and mediation processes can dig beneath the radical clash of Conclusions positions and bring out the underlying inter- The cases of the Netherlands and Switzerland ests. Only when these are brought to light show that the executive branch of govern- can tensions be dealt with in a manner that ment can create mediation space if it remains accommodates both actors’ interests, rather sufficiently independent of the parties’ politi- than one dominating the other. cization of Islam. Once Islam was politicized, In all of the countries mentioned above, there both governments reacted by promoting a are various projects that go in this direction; non-confrontational process to deal with ten- these need to be supported and reported by sions. Ideally, the underlying concerns would the media, even if they are less spectacular have been addressed much earlier on. In the than radical statements and actions. There are case of Denmark, the coalition required the real issues related to , the support of the Danish People’s Party, making Netherlands, and Denmark, but these cannot it a party to the conflict, rather than being be addressed through proxy conflicts over able to facilitate a de-escalation of tensions. symbols, be these cartoons, minarets, or It is important to realize that some actors, head-scarves. Unpacking the positions and both on the Muslim and non-Muslim sides, addressing the underlying interests is the only have no interest in easing tensions over Islam. long-term way forward. In effect, the actors who politicize and in-

18

Mediating Tensions over Islam in Denmark, Holland, and Switzerland

Simon J A Mason, Abbas Aroua, Annika Åberg

The Center for Security Studies, ETH Zurich specialises in research, teaching, and the provision of electronic services in international and Swiss security policy. An academic institute with a major think- tank capacity, it has a wide network of partners. The CSS is part of the Center for Comparative and International Studies (CIS), which includes the political science chairs of ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich. (www.css.ethz.ch)

The Cordoba Foundation, Geneva is a non-profit organization, directed by Dr. Abbas Aroua. The aim of the foundation is to facilitate exchange between cultures, civilizations and communities in the spirit of Cordoba. It aims to contribute to research and enrich the debate on how to enhance peace in the world. (www.cordoue.ch)

Further related publications are available at www.isn.ethz.ch and www.peacemediation.ch: • Transforming Conflicts with Religious Dimensions: Methodolgies and Practical Experiences • Debriefing Mediators to Learn from Their Experiences • Insider Mediators - Exploring Their Key Role in Informal Peace Processes • The Tormented Triangle: The Regionalisation of Conflict in Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic • To Be a Negotiator: Strategies and Tactics • Mediation Essentials: Dealing with the Past in Peace Mediation • Mediation Essentials: Federalism and Peace Mediation • Mediation Essentials: Gender and Peace Mediation • Towards Realizing the Strengths and Mitigating the Challenges of NGO Mediators • Unpacking the Mystery of Mediation in African Peace Processes • Linking Environment and Conflict Prevention – the role of the United Nations • Tools for Building Confidence on the Korean Peninsula • Mediation and Facilitation in Peace Processes • Conflict analysis tools

CSS ETH Zurich

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