Swiss campaign to ban minarets construction

A group of right-wing politicians is gathering signatures to try to force a national vote on banning the construction of minarets in Switzerland, the leader of the campaign said yesterday.

The planned building of minarets, the towers attached to mosques from which the Islamic call for prayer is issued, in small Swiss towns has sparked local protests.

A group of politicians from the Swiss National Party and Federal Democratic Union are seeking to prevent the construction of minarets in national law, saying they are a symbol of power and threaten law and order in Switzerland.