To combat extremism: Citizens demand national language requirements for imams

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If you don’t speak Arabic, Albanian, Bosnian or Turkish, you won’t understand a word in some Swiss mosques. Although Friday prayers are increasingly held in two languages, there are still imams who hardly speak German or another national language.

EDU Council Member Andreas Gafner (52) is bothered by this. The Bernese demand that preaching in mosques is only allowed in one national language or in English. He submitted a corresponding proposal to the National Council this week, which is supported by numerous SVP politicians and individual representatives of the center and the EPP.

Imams sent from abroad were targeted

Gafner says he is very concerned about increasing radicalization. Radical Islam is often fueled by imams sent by foreign states. For example, the Turkish religious authority funds several dozen imams in Switzerland – and Kuwait and Qatar also sponsor Islamic centers.

The EDU National Council wants to put an end to this by means of a national language requirement. “Even then you don’t have full control,” he admits. “But it would be a step in the right direction.” Gafner refers to abroad. In France, imams sent by a foreign state have recently been denied residence permits.

What’s the point?

It is not the first attempt to impose stricter rules on mosques, especially those financed from abroad. In 2016, Lorenzo Quadri (49, national councilor of the League) called for a ban on mosques and imams from accepting foreign money. He also wanted imams to be allowed to preach only in one national language. But the Council of States rejected the proposal.

The question is what a national language requirement would actually achieve in preventing the radicalization of Muslims. A 2015 ZHAW study shows that this does not primarily happen in mosques, but mainly through contacts with fellow sufferers and via the internet.

“All-round impact with very limited impact”

Önder Günes (48), chairman of the Federation of Islamic Umbrella Organizations Switzerland (FIDS), speaks of a “general attack with a very limited effect”. He criticizes the fact that this would create a special law for mosques. If that is the case, he says, then, for example, sermons in Spanish should also be banned.

Today, many mosques already preach in a national language – because of the young worshipers who grew up here and the fact that people from different ethnic groups are increasingly coming together. Günes, however, rejects a ban on foreign languages. “We must also think of the older generations, who often only speak the local language poorly and for whom the mosque is an important refuge.”

Source:Blick