Zurich Recommends Ban on Quran Distribution Campaign in Public Spaces
The recommendation clashed with an assessment by federal intelligence services published three days before which concluded a ban on the campaign’s Quran distribution would lead to a "strong conflict with the exercise of religious freedom”.
Zurich’s security department urged communities not to provide a public platform for the Islamic "READ!” campaign, which it said had ties to extremists in Switzerland and had a number of members being prosecuted by the attorney general.
"The community is not obliged to allow public space as a platform for spreading views that are irreconcilable with our society’s basic and fundamental values,” Zurich’s Security Department wrote, citing a legal opinion it had sought, Reuters reported.
"Such actions may thus be prohibited within the current legal framework.”
The READ campaign could not be reached for comment.
The Association of Islamic Organizations in Zurich said it did not expect any negative consequences for the Muslim community, as the measure applied only to a specific campaign.
"We generally prefer individuals to be informed about Islam in mosques or for members to engage in local dialogue,” the association said in an emailed statement.
The "READ!” campaign was initiated by Germany’s DWR "True Religion” group in 2011 with the goal of distributing 25 million Qurans across Europe.
But DWR was banned in Germany last November for "radicalizing youngsters” and "propagating extremist ideologies and supporting terrorist organizations under the pretext of Islam”, according to German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere.
The organization had persuaded about 140 people in Germany to join militants in Iraq and Syria, authorities said.
De Maiziere said at the time the group’s distribution of Qurans and other religious material especially to young people was not the reason for the ban.
Swiss authorities say more than 80 people have left Switzerland to fight alongside terrorists.
Zurich’s security department urged the Swiss federal government to ban the "True Religion” group under new national intelligence laws that take effect on Sept. 1, and recommended other closely related groups must be prevented from distributing Qurans in public.
The Federal Intelligence Service, however, said it would be very difficult to forbid the group nationwide because of religious freedom laws.
A spokesman for Zurich’s security department said the measure was a matter of safety policy and did not affect religious freedom.
