A library photo of Swiss Muslims in a mosque

By Tamer Abul Einein, IOL Correspondent

GENEVA, December 15 (IslamOnline.net) – Prominent leaders of the Swiss Muslim community have expressed relief about the results of a poll which showed Muslims successfully integrating into the Swiss society, refuting accusations by right wing forces that Muslims face difficulties integrating into European societies.

The Muslim figures called, in statements to Islamonline.net, on decision-makers and politicians in the European country to deal with Islam rationally rather than emotionally till the full picture becomes clear.

Opinion polls, published by a weekly magazine in Lausanne early this week, showed 60% of Muslims keen on performing their religious duties, with 84% of them feeling accepted by the society.

Two thirds of the sample, made up of 607 Muslims, saw no conflict between Swiss laws and Shari’ah (Islamic code).

The poll highlights the successful integration of Muslims into the ranks of the Swiss society, with 79% of participants pointing out they did not feel threatened for being Muslims. 21% of the sample, however, said that they were harassed because of their religious affiliation.

Common Mistake

The poll, conducted by the MIS institute on a time span extending from November 28, to December 1, 2004, unveiled a common misconception about Muslims in the Swiss society. Swiss nationals, according to the poll, thought Muslims were failing to mix with the society.

Commenting on the results of  the poll in a telephone contact with Islamonline.net Swiss Muslim League chief Solaiman Abdel Kader said “The outcome confirms that the fears propagated by Swiss media were fabricated, and were designed to spread Islam scare and make Muslims residents feel like pariahs”.

Director general of Cordoba institution for inter-culture dialogue and research in the field of peace and conflicts, Arab Abbas Erwa, commented on the poll results, describing them as positive.

“The failure of the Swiss media campaign against Muslims could be attributed to the great awareness of Swiss people in dealing with media reports.”

He saw Switzerland as more fertile for co-existence and dialogue than other European states.

“We should maintain this situation as being a fortune which other Muslim communities in Europe lack,” he noted.

“Maintaining this fortune is the responsibility of the Muslim community and Swiss politicians who should not be tempted to exploit such fears for political gains”, Erwa said, adding Muslims should stand up to face media attacks by counter campaigns, based on reason and logic and aimed at introducing Islam and removing obscurity.

No Islamic Threat

The poll came shortly on the heels of a poll by International Standardization Organization or ISO Public, a renowned institution specialized in opinion polls. The ISO survey was conducted on 1,101 Swiss citizens during November 24-27, 2004, and probed their opinion about Islam and Muslims in Switzerland .

The survey showed 75% of non-Muslim participants did not consider Muslims as  a threat but rather ordinary citizens of the Swiss society. 83% of participants – aged 15 to 34 -- rejected claims about so-called “Islamic scare”. The percentage dropped to 77% in the 35-54 age bracket and to 64% in the 55-74 bracket.

57% of participants have no objection to allowing Muslim students to receive Islamic religious curricula in Swiss schools as it would help them have sound connection with their religion.

Decision makers and experts rely on ISO Public polls to keep informed on Swiss public opinion.

On the other hand, experts in Islamic Affairs in Switzerland shared identical views with those unveiled by the poll.

Swiss National Security report issued in June 2004 stated that the European country was not targeted by “terrorist” groups and that the number of “fanatic” Muslims was very few compared with other European states, according to IOL correspondent.