VDH has an interesting proposal to those protesting the anti-minaret vote in Switzerland:
In response to the Swiss model, Saudi Arabia or Gaza or Iran would in turn allow new Christian churches to be built to accommodate converts or immigrants, but would insist on no ostentatious spires. Who could object to such moral equivalence?
Who indeed?
I’m sorry Rand, but that doesn’t make sense. Personally, I don’t understand the ban at all. Apparently, this minaret triggered the whole thing. That particular one looks kind of ugly and doesn’t fit with the building it’s on. But as long as these things fit the building codes and zoning laws for the region, what’s the big deal?
The point is that it’s hard to take seriously the complaints of Muslims about religious discrimination in Europe when you can’t even bring a Bible into Saudi Arabia.
I think you can bring a Bible into Saudi Arabia (I’ve done it!) but you better not show it to anybody. As a Christian, I feel the minaret ban is wrong, but I have to admit the irony is pretty rich.
I think the minaret ban is wrong, too. Because it doesn’t go far enough. Existing ones should be demolished – preferably with the muezzins in them at the time. And building new mosques, or converting other buildings into mosques, should also be illegal.
Why? Because many mosques are more akin to a chapter house for the Red Brigades than to a church or synagogue – and those who don’t go into them have no way of knowing which those are.