Swiss Parliament Votes to Ban Foreign Financed Mosques and Arabic Preachings

The Swiss National Council, the parliament's lower house, has come together with a narrow majority to ban foreign financed mosques and increase the transparency in their funding from abroad.

The proposed law obliges Mosques in Switzerland, to stop accepting money from abroad. According to the Federal Assembly's website, 94 members of the parliament voted in favor of the decision, with 89 voting against it.

The new legislation is proposed by 'Lega dei Ticinesi party' to ban the foreign financing for the mosque. Party says that details of foreign funding being done in mosques and keep transparency in its transactions

Moreover, the bill obliges Imam to give preachings in the state language rather than Arabic languages.

The legislation is not backed by the Federal Government. According to them, it will be a discrimination against Muslims to bring them under suspicion.

Prior to this, a ban was on Islamic Minarets was nearly supported by 58 per cent of the population.

Saudi Arabia is well known for funding the spread of its radical and Wahhabist interpretation of Islam in Europe.

They provided financial backing for the construction of Finsbury Park Mosque in London.The same mosque was found to have its links to hate preacher Abu Hamza, shoe-bomber Richard Reid, and 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui before it was reformed in 2005.

(With inputs from agencies)