|
Majority
of Swiss support Muslim headscarf in workplace: poll
GENEVA (AFP) - A majority of Swiss
people would support a Muslim woman's right to wear a headscarf at her
workplace, according to an opinion poll on the integration of Islam in
Switzerland published Sunday.
Fifty-three percent of those polled said they felt a recent move by a
supermarket chain to expressly allow women in public sales jobs to
wear headscarves was right, against 36 percent who opposed the idea,
the newspaper Sonntagsblick said.
The opinion poll indicated that the French-speaking Swiss were more
reticent about allowing headscarves in the workplace compared to the
Germanic and Italian language communities in Switzerland, the
newspaper said.
A huge majority nationwide, 76 percent, did not feel the 300,000
Muslims living in Switzerland were a threat, while 16 percent
disagreed, the poll found.
About 57 percent supported Muslims who wanted their children to be
dispensed from standard religious education at school and to be taught
Islamic teachings instead, although 31 percent were more reticent
about the idea.
"The findings show that the Swiss people are very tolerant about the
integration of minorities," Farhad Afshar, head of a coordination body
for Islamic organizations in Switzerland, told Sonntagsblick.
Two-thirds of those polled favored criminal proceedings against
Muslims who advocated stoning -- although 26 percent disagreed -- and
78 percent supported offering courses to Muslim women so that they
were aware of their rights.
The Swiss appeared sharply divided over granting an official place to
Islam alongside the officially-recognized Protestant and Roman
Catholic churches.
Forty-six percent favored the idea while 43 percent opposed it.
The opinion poll came amid debate in European countries about the
integration of the Muslim community in society, including a recent ban
on wearing religious symbols in French schools, and the role of imams.
The poll carried out by the Isopublic survey company surveyed 1,101
people aged between 15 and 74 by telephone throughout Switzerland.
Source:
tehrantimes.com
|
Hijab Ban News -
Quick briefing - Switzerland
Majority
of Swiss support Muslim headscarf in workplace: poll