Swiss hate

" But that didn't stop Swiss businessman Guillaume Morand, who protested last month's constitutional amendment banning minarets by building one atop the chimney of his office in the city of Lausanne. Morand, who owns a chain of shoe stores, told the AFP news agency that the ban is shameful, and blamed liberal parties for failing to counter what he described as right-wing scare tactics. The Swiss People's Party, which spearheaded the initiative to ban minarets on mosques, released an aggressive campaign including posters of women in face-covering burkas and minarets shaped like rockets. The ban was all the more scandalous, Morand said, given that Switzerland encourages Arabs to "visit the country and to spend their money here." Morand joins prominent Jewish leaders and the Vatican in condemning the referendum last month, when 53% of Swiss voters went to the polls to decide whether to outlaw the construction of any more minarets, although only four mosques in Switzerland have them. The amendment passed with 57% of the votes." (thanks Bart)