The creation of a Muslim square in the Weinfelden cemetery, in Thurgovia, deeply divides the population. While a referendum is opposed to this project, the debate now even exceeds the cantonal limits. The people will decide on May 18.
last December, the Weinfelden legislature (TG) accepted 24 votes against 4 a change in the regulation of the cemetery, authorizing the creation of 70 tombs oriented towards Mecca.
The reaction was immediate: the Federal Democratic Union (UDF), a party who wants to defender Christian values, launched a referendum, supported by the UDC, and collected the 400 signatures required in just three days. Opponents denounce a “special treatment” for the Muslim community. They also see an attack on the religious neutrality of the cemetery.
The debate is so intense that the municipality has already organized two information sessions. Some referees even claim to undergo hatred, such as Lukas Madörin, UDF deputy and local trader. He said he lost 20,000 francs in turnover in three months.
The controversy has even largely exceeded the borders of the small town of 12,000 inhabitants and the canton. The Egerkingen committee, known for its anti-minarer and anti-burqa initiatives, has notably invited itself to the debate. Last week, he sent a flyer to all the inhabitants, although he was based in Lucerne.
Citizens and citizens “misleading”
This extra-cantonal interference is denounced by the supporters of the project. In a statement published last week, the commune of Weinfelden warned its population, called to vote on the issue on May 18, against these leaflets of the Egerkingen committee, believing that they could mislead them.
-The Committee says that, according to Sharia law, Muslims cannot be buried next to an “impure believer” and that Muslim tombs would also work according to the principle of eternal rest of the dead.
However, the municipality specifies that the 70 graves planned would be open to all inhabitants, according to Islamic tradition. There will also be no eternal rest for the tombs. They will be abandoned after twenty years, like all the others. Finally, the principle of “pure land”, which asks that the deceased be buried in a soil on which no tomb has never been placed before, is not on the agenda either.
Thirty-six Muslim squares in Switzerland
It is not the first time that a Muslim square has aroused such a debate. Despite the existence of 36 Muslim squares in Switzerland, resistance persists. In Saint-Gall, Lucerne, Friborg and Lausanne, the UDC has systematically opposed it, often in vain. In 2017, the Muslim square of the Lausanne cemetery had even been vandalized.
>> Read also: The Muslim square of the Lausanne cemetery was vandalized
It is estimated that between 1000 and 2000 Muslims die each year in Switzerland, and about half are buried there. It is an upward trend, according to the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Switzerland.
Valentin Jordil/Edel with ATS
