The ad campaign was dismissed as "malicious"

By Tamer Abul Einein, IOL Correspondent

GENEVA, September 9 (IslamOnline.net) – A Swiss Muslim organization has launched a sign-in campaign against bids by the far-right wing to block a vote on granting citizenship to long-time residents.

The Islamic Cultural Foundation said the campaign – to begin in front of the Geneva Mosque Friday, September 10, afternoon – is meant to counter malicious bids "meant to incite hatred of others, and which carry a grim reminder of Nazism."

Several Swiss newspapers have published a number of an advertisement warning that voting in favor of the amendments of the law to confer citizenship on foreigners residing in the country could turn Muslims into a majority.

The warning cited statistics of the growing number of Muslims arriving in the country especially from the Balkan region and Turkey.

Islam is the second religion in Switzerland after Christianity. Forty-three percent of the Muslim community are of Turkish origin.

The country is home to 350,000 Muslims representing a sizable 4.5 percent of the country’s some eight million people, in addition to more than 10,000 illegal Muslim immigrants.

Political observers regard the warning made by the supporters of the extremist party as hyperbolic, saying the data of the Federal Statistics Bureau point out that the birth rate of Muslims is almost normal.

Legal Action

Dismissing claims of potential majority status of Muslims, Abdel-Hafiz Al-Waridi – the spokesman for the Foundation – told IslamOnline.net the body is considering to sue those behind the ad.

Personal initiatives by a Swiss lawyer was also taken, after filing a lawsuit in his name before the general prosecutor in Bern .

The lawyer – who asked to withhold his name for fear of pressures from the right-wing - accused right-wing MP Ulrich Schleuer of inciting racial oppression and hatred by his signing the ad.

On Wednesday, Bern 's general prosecutor Hermann Vanger emphasized the lawsuit is being brought up to justice by the lawyer.

The next step taken by the general prosecutor will probably be suing those who support the advertising campaign, as the powers of the general prosecution include direct interference when such ads threaten public security.

Head of the Federal Commission for Foreigners' Affairs Francis Mattie regarded the ad, first published on September 4, "a threat to the internal security of the country"; a matter refused by the constitution and punishable by the Swiss law.

Matte had considered the ad – first published on September 4 - a "threat to internal peace of the whole country", which he said rejected by the country’s constitution and punished by the Swiss Law.

That has come after Muslims in Switzerland have launched a ten-day campaign to reach out to non-Muslims in the capital Geneva and stand up to malicious media onslaughts and clear stereotypes about the religion and its followers.

Notorious Agency

IOL has learnt the ad campaign was designed and supervised by "Goal", an advertising agency owned by Alexander Segrette and no stranger to controversy.

Several years ago, Swiss authorities have banned a publishing house and a society owned by Segrette, a psychologist, after they were used to propagate what were considered as inappropriate ideas.

Since then, Segrette has been organizing ad campaigns for the right-wing People's Party, whose ideas are based on intimidating the public opinion against foreigners in general and Muslims in particular.

The party had faced an earlier legal action for likening other parties as "rats".

The vote on citizenship amendments is scheduled for September 26.

Unlike other European countries, Switzerland is one of the states where foreigners are only granted citizenship after residing there for over 12 years. Second and third generations do not even be get citizenship just for being born on its territories.

A recently released study by Zurich University showed that the image of Muslims is badly blemished in all Swiss media.

Blick Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Facts, Le Matin, Le Temps and Welt Woche come high on the list of Swiss dailies and magazines that are frequent attackers of Islam, according to the study.