The largest party in Switzerland’s Parliament, the Swiss People’s Party, is campaigning to ban the building of minarets on mosques, for the simple reason that they are political statements of Islamic supremacism: Swiss move to ban minarets.

The BBC, of course, is aghast at this “extreme paranoia.” Never mind that the Islamists themselves say the minaret is a symbol of dominance.

“We don’t have anything against Muslims,” said Oskar Freysinger, member of parliament for the Swiss People’s Party. “But we don’t want minarets. The minaret is a symbol of a political and aggressive Islam, it’s a symbol of Islamic law. The minute you have minarets in Europe it means Islam will have taken over.”

Mr Freysinger’s words may sound extreme, even paranoid, but this is a general election year in Switzerland, and the campaign against minarets is playing well with voters. A recent opinion poll for one Swiss newspaper found that 43% of those surveyed were in favour of a ban on minarets.

“We have our civil laws here,” insisted Mr Freysinger. “Banning minarets would send a clear signal that our European laws, our Swiss laws, have to be accepted. And if you want to live here, you must accept them. If you don’t, then go back.”

Professor of Islamic studies Reinhard Schulze warns that any hint that Muslims are not peaceful might result in violence. Better to let them have the minarets, so they don’t hurt us.

It’s a harsh message for Swiss Muslims, many of whom were born in Switzerland. There are fears that the campaign against minarets will provoke growing resentment against Swiss society.

“I think Swiss Muslims will be angry and bitter over this,” said Reinhard Schulze, professor of Islamic Studies at Berne University. “And we know that anger and bitterness among a community can lead to radicalisation, even to militancy.”

(Hat tip: LGF readers.)