Quran ban

At the beginning of May this year, on the basis of a legal opinion, the canton of Zurich’s head of security advised all municipalities in the canton to ban QuranÂ distribution by the controversial organisation “Lies!”, which translates toÂ “Read!” in English. The organisation has been accused of using Quran distribution as a pretext for recruiting people for Jihad.

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According to Swiss broadcaster SFR, the municipality of Zurich City has gone against the canton’s advice by allowing “Lies!” to operate in the city this comingÂ Saturday. Richard Wolff, security chief of Zurich City, told the broadcaster that there is no evidence or court ruling against the group, only allegations. He said: “We must safeguard fundamental rights and not ban something without foundation.”

The canton’s security department cannot understand the decision, describing it as “incomprehensible”. Urs Grob, media spokesman for the department said: “Lies!’s actions abuse religious freedom and freedom of speech.”

The city is waiting for more information before deciding whether there are sufficient grounds for a ban. It has however placed some restrictions on “Lies!’s” activities. No more than five people can be involved, and all of them must give their details to the authorities.

Indications suggest “Lies!” is organised by a group called “Die wahre Religion” (True religion) with the aim of recruiting members for so-called Islamic State. “Die wahre Religion” has been banned in Germany since November last year, according to Zeit Online. According to the New York Times, there were concerns in Germany that the group was trying to recruit Muslim refugees.

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Le Matin.

According to Swiss newspapers, Walter Wobman, a national councillor and member of the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP), would like to prevent distribution of the Quran in Switzerland. He told the newspapers Ostschweiz am Sonntag and Zentralschweiz am Sonntag: “It should not be possible to distribute books as extreme as the Quran, which attack our culture and legal system.”

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Another parliamentarian, Yannick Buttet, thinks it makes no sense to ban distribution of the Quran. “The problem is not the book itself. The problem is that some distribution is used by IS as a means to recruit and the Swiss Federal Intelligence Service knows this.”

In 2016, Germany banned the organisation “Die wahre Religion”, which was handing out Qurans in the street. Suspected of radicalising young muslims, the organisation is active in Switzerland, according to Le Matin.

Yannick Buttet thinks it is important to exercise caution. “Rather than ban distribution, it is important to target associations and mosques active in recruitment”, he said. Laurence Fehlmann Rielle (PS/SP) agrees: “In itself there is nothing wrong with handing out Qurans. On the other hand if we see that some are using it as an opportunity to build a jihad network, thenÂ we need to ban these organisations.”

National councillor Lisa Mazzone, from the Green party, condemned the idea. “It is reckless to suggest something like this. It attacks Switzerland’s religious freedom. Once more it is a move applied to a single religion. We repeatedly stigmatise one part of the population, muslims.” In addition, she pointed out that there are laws against inciting violence which will be bolstered from 1 September when the new Federal intelligence laws come into force, following last year’s referendum.

Earlier in 2017, Tribune de GenÃ¨ve reported that some parents in Geneva were upsetÂ by unauthorised Bible distribution outside a school in Carouge.

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Zurich allows Quran distribution on streets against advice of canton

Swiss parliamentarian wants to stop distribution of the Quran

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