Persecution of Non-Muslims (Switzerland)

Note that the persecution of apostates and the persecution of homosexuals are covered in separate pages

"You dirty Whites! Have you no shame?" Mosque-goers harass students at a nearby school with racist slurs and photograph female students, all because they were running in their gym outfits "during the hour of prayer"

"You dirty Whites! Have you no shame?" insulted, derided, ogled and even photographed by mobile phone: about fifteen students of the Ecole de commerce André-Chavanne were caught by a group of people leaving the mosque of the Grand-Saconnex suburb of Geneva. Their crime that they were running in a gym outfit on the athletics track of their school 'during the hour of prayer'.

The incident caused commotion among students, teachers, parents and even the higher ups of the national education ministry. It caused strong reactions on the part of the mosque. The imam vehemently condemned such acts in his sermon to the believers. Today the good neighborly relationship is back.

On Friday April 3rd, in the early afternoon, the students, about 15 years old, were exercising on the course. A dozen people leaving prayer, found themselves facing them. To return to where they parked they took a shortcut, a newly opened rod which leads to the sports field.

Instead of avoiding passing the track, the men, young and less young, walked right through. They disrupted the race, going through the plastic cones arranged for the exercise. they insulted the students, roughly put them down, took a picture, and blamed them for their shamelessness before leaving.

Shocked, the young gym teacher who trained them notified the school. On April 6th the principal, Roland Jeannet, alerted his superiors and sent a letter to the mosque administration asking them to speak in the next meeting of the mosque and to encourage their believers to more respect.

Roland Jeannet says that the imam responded very well and that the following Friday he dedicated a long part of his sermon to this issue. He's since received letters from believers denouncing the attitude of these men and fearing for the image of Muslims.

A meeting between the principal, two mosque representative and a police agent took place at the end of April. this reassured the school, which did not lodge a complaint.

The Islamic Cultural Foundation took the incident very seriously. One of the leaders says that Muslims must be an example, particularly in this context, where they're often blamed.

There has been no previous incident in the area between the mosque and the school, which are close by. However, one of the teachers says that they're sometimes a little uncomfortable when parking in the area, where hundreds of men come to prayer. A female student at the school says that the girls who run get insistent looks at their chests.

It is possible that the shortcut between the mosque and parking will be closed again.

Les fidèles humilient des collégiennes (English translation)
Par Mathieu Cupelin, Le Matin (French), May 15, 2009

1 year on from the revolution, Tunisian asylum seekers remain to terrorize the native Swiss population like "no other asylum seekers". 30% more call-outs since summer. They steal and fight. 400 incidents, half of them violent

There are only a few of them. But they're making life difficult for the inhabitants of Chiasso. Chiasso already asked the federal government for help months ago. Tunisian asylum seekers steal, fight, drink on the streets.

..."Since the summer we have had 30 per cent more call-outs. There were 400 incidents involving asylum seekers. Half of them were violent acts,~" says Nicolas Poncini (50), the local police chief. "They no longer just fight among themselves, they also attack the population. They are extremely aggressive. Among themselves too. We have also seen very bloody self-wounds."

..."I'm afraid that the confrontation between the asylum seekers and the population is getting out of control," says the local police chief. "In the last few days things have been getting really wild here," says the director of the reception centre, Antonio Simona (59). The North Africans come home drunk; they fight with the staff. "On Tuesday we had to get the police. Suddenly there were six, seven North Africans standing in front of us and they wanted to attack the officials."

"It's only a small group that's taking us to our limits. Very young men with lots of energy and without employment. They drink, become aggressive," continues Simona. "I've been in the centre since 1998, have seen people from all possible countries come and go, but I have never seen people who disturb the public peace like these Tunisians."

«Ich habe noch nie Menschen erlebt, die den öffentlichen Frieden so stören!» (English translation)
Myrtle Mueller, Blick.ch (German), December 1, 2012

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