“We live in a democratic country, hence we accept the choice of the majority,” said Abdul Kadir

By Tamer Abul Einein, IOL Correspondent

BERN, September 29 (IslamOnline.net) – Switzerland’s largest Muslim association has expressed its disappointment at the results of a public referendum that rejected a citizenship draft law encouraging the integration of second and third generations of Muslim immigrants into society.

The League of Muslims in Switzerland accused the xenophobic right-wing Swiss People’s Party of launching a malicious campaign to alienate the Swiss people from supporting the measure.

In an unexpected result, 56.7 percent of the voters opposed a plan to grant automatic citizenship to Swiss-born children and grandchildren of immigrants and ease naturalization rules for foreigners raised and schooled in Switzerland .

Foreigners have to wait at least 12 years before they can apply for citizenship.

Media Campaign

“We hoped the new draft law would give the Muslim Swiss-born children and grandchildren of immigrants the chance to fully integrate into their society,” League chairman Suliman Abdul Kadert told IslamOnline.net Tuesday, September 28.

He said the People’s Party has launched a media campaign warning the public of supporting the bill and raising fears that Muslims would outnumber the natives in 20 years’ time.

Islam is the second largest religion in Switzerland after Christianity.

The Muslim community, estimated at 350,000, represents a sizable 4.5 percent of the country’s some eight million people.

Abdul Kader, however, said he respected the results of the voting.

“We live in a democratic country, hence we accept the choice of the majority.”

The party had further sought to blemish foreign communities in Switzerland , particularly the Balkanians.

The Religions Forum in Zurich , an NGO, criticized some newspapers for publishing anti-immigration ads paid by the People’s Party.

Litigation

The Swiss Forum for Immigrants and Integration Issues decided to file a lawsuit against the hard-line party.

The forum said the party’s position tarnishes the image of Muslims and foreigners in the country, demanding a symbolic 15-million-frank compensation.

The results, however, drew flack from Swiss writers and public figures.

Journalist Peter Hartmeier wrote in a September 27 article in the respected Tages-Anzeiger newspaper that the Swill people would pay the price for their opposition of the integration drive.

“It was a golden opportunity to integrate the Swiss-born grandchildren of immigrants in Switzerland, especially those who have been here for a long time and who pay taxes and contribute to retirement funds.”

He said the Swiss should not place the newcomers and the Swiss-born foreign generations into one basket.

Hartmeier also hit out at the helpless stand of other Swiss parties before the schemes of the People’s Party.