https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Switzerland in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed The Swiss government has rejected a nationwide burqa ban but hopes to introduce a new law that would make it illegal for people to refuse to uncover their face when asked to do so by government officials, transport staff or privately-contracted ticket inspectors. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190315/swiss-train-staff-should-have-power-to-demand-people-uncover-their-face Fri, 15 Mar 2019 23:41:10 +0100 swiss-train-staff-should-have-power-to-demand-people-uncover-their-face A Zurich appeals court has upheld a fine for a Muslim man who chose not to send his three sons to a rehearsal for a Christmas concert. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190307/zurich-muslim-father-fined-after-kids-fail-to-attend-christmas-concert-rehearsal Thu, 07 Mar 2019 20:41:55 +0100 zurich-muslim-father-fined-after-kids-fail-to-attend-christmas-concert-rehearsal One of the key figures behind a successful campaign to have burqas banned in the Swiss canton of Ticino now wants Muslims banned from praying in public. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190213/swiss-burqa-ban-campaigner-calls-for-ban-on-muslim-prayers-in-public Wed, 13 Feb 2019 18:53:23 +0100 swiss-burqa-ban-campaigner-calls-for-ban-on-muslim-prayers-in-public Police in the Swiss city of Schaffhausen have defended their decision to fine a man who used the words “Allahu akbar” in public. https://www.thelocal.ch/20190110/man-fined-210-swiss-francs-for-saying-allahu-akbar Thu, 10 Jan 2019 12:12:33 +0100 man-fined-210-swiss-francs-for-saying-allahu-akbar A Swiss court has handed eight men suspended sentences of up to 18 months for their role in a 2016 attack in which two worshippers at a controversial mosque in Winterthur were beaten, locked up and threatened with death over suspicions they had tipped off journalists about a radical sermon preached by an imam. https://www.thelocal.ch/20181023/eight-sentenced-over-attack-by-muslims-at-swiss-mosque Tue, 23 Oct 2018 21:52:57 +0200 eight-sentenced-over-attack-by-muslims-at-swiss-mosque A second Swiss canton will introduce a regional "burqa ban", after voters in St. Gallen overwhelmingly voted Sunday to prohibit all face-covering garments in public spaces. https://www.thelocal.ch/20180923/swiss-region-of-st-gallen-overwhelmingly-votes-for-burqa-ban Sun, 23 Sep 2018 16:06:31 +0200 swiss-region-of-st-gallen-overwhelmingly-votes-for-burqa-ban A second Swiss canton will vote Sunday on whether to introduce a regional "burqa ban", a controversial law that would prohibit all face-covering garments in public spaces. https://www.thelocal.ch/20180921/direct-democracy-regional-burqa-ban-up-for-vote-in-switzerland-gmo-crops-agriculture Fri, 21 Sep 2018 10:56:15 +0200 direct-democracy-regional-burqa-ban-up-for-vote-in-switzerland-gmo-crops-agriculture The Federal Supreme Court has ruled that a planned referendum in the canton of Valais which would have seen the wearing of headscarves and veils is invalid and cannot go ahead. https://www.thelocal.ch/20180907/top-swiss-court-vetoes-cantonal-vote-on-school-headgear-ban Fri, 07 Sep 2018 21:57:38 +0200 top-swiss-court-vetoes-cantonal-vote-on-school-headgear-ban A Swiss court on Friday slapped a 20-month suspended sentence on an official of a prominent Islamic group for alleged production and distribution of jihadist propaganda but acquitted its leader. https://www.thelocal.ch/20180616/swiss-court-jails-islamic-group-official-for-jihadist-film Sat, 16 Jun 2018 12:43:24 +0200 swiss-court-jails-islamic-group-official-for-jihadist-film A third woman has accused prominent Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan of rape, a month after he was indicted over similar charges and remanded into custody, judicial sources told the AFP news agency on Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20180307/third-woman-accuses-swiss-islamic-scholar-tariq-ramadan-of-rape Wed, 07 Mar 2018 22:16:33 +0100 third-woman-accuses-swiss-islamic-scholar-tariq-ramadan-of-rape Mosques in Switzerland should not be financed from abroad and imams should be obliged to preach in a Swiss national language, the Swiss lower house of parliament decided on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170927/swiss-parliament-in-favour-of-tightening-rules-for-mosques-and-imams Wed, 27 Sep 2017 11:21:51 +0200 swiss-parliament-in-favour-of-tightening-rules-for-mosques-and-imams As the academic year begins at the University of Geneva (Unige), a new programme is on offer that aims to help imams in Switzerland integrate into Swiss society. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170918/geneva-university-launches-new-course-to-help-imams-integrate-in-swiss-society Mon, 18 Sep 2017 13:24:32 +0200 geneva-university-launches-new-course-to-help-imams-integrate-in-swiss-society The An’Nur mosque in Winterthur, which has been at the centre of a number of police operations over its alleged support for radical Islam, is set to close at the end of June. https://www.thelocal.ch/20170529/controversial-swiss-mosque-to-close-its-doors Mon, 29 May 2017 12:25:26 +0200 controversial-swiss-mosque-to-close-its-doors A man burst into a Muslim prayer hall in Zurich on Monday and started shooting, injuring three men, according to police, who have launched a manhunt for the shooter. https://www.thelocal.ch/20161219/three-injured-in-shooting-at-islamic-centre-in-zurich Mon, 19 Dec 2016 22:54:01 +0100 three-injured-in-shooting-at-islamic-centre-in-zurich The new ban against the Islamic face veil (niqab) and full-length burqa in the canton of Ticino is not being effectively enforced, according to reports. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160804/women-shoppers-flout-burqa-ban-in-ticino Thu, 04 Aug 2016 11:31:15 +0200 women-shoppers-flout-burqa-ban-in-ticino A row in Switzerland over whether Muslim boys should be obliged to shake hands with female teachers refuses to go away. https://www.thelocal.ch/20160411/handshake-therwil-i-only-put-isis-video-on-facebook-because-i-liked-the-music Mon, 11 Apr 2016 11:54:45 +0200 handshake-therwil-i-only-put-isis-video-on-facebook-because-i-liked-the-music Police in the French Alps have been forced to hand out notices to tourists wearing the full face veil, many on a day trip from Switzerland, to remind them that France has a total burqa ban in public. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150723/swiss-tourists-warned-of-french-burqa-ban Thu, 23 Jul 2015 13:11:11 +0200 swiss-tourists-warned-of-french-burqa-ban Authorities in Zurich have refused to give the go-ahead to a Islamic kindergarten over fears it will be "too religious". https://www.thelocal.ch/20150721/zurich-pulls-plug-on-islamic-kindergarten Tue, 21 Jul 2015 17:37:23 +0200 zurich-pulls-plug-on-islamic-kindergarten Seven Swiss resident Muslims who came to lay flowers outside the US embassy in Bern in memory of the three Chapel Hill murder victims were “intimidated” by a police identity check, the Islamic Central Council of Switzerland (IZRS) has said. https://www.thelocal.ch/20150216/bern-police-id-chapel-hill-mourners Mon, 16 Feb 2015 12:46:00 +0100 bern-police-id-chapel-hill-mourners Voters in Switzerland's Italian-speaking region on Sunday slapped a ban on wearing full-face veils, a move condemned by the country's Muslim community and Amnesty International. https://www.thelocal.ch/20130922/ticino-voters-back-ban-on-face-veils Sun, 22 Sep 2013 23:18:00 +0200 ticino-voters-back-ban-on-face-veils