Muslims will punish Swiss by emptying bank accounts: Turkish minister

[ASHISH67]

Turkish minister said he expected Muslims to withdraw their money from Swiss banks in response to a referendum vote that banned the construction of minarets in the country, in remarks published Wednesday. "I am certain this (the vote) will prompt our brothers from Muslim countries who keep their money and investments in Swiss banks to review their decision," State Minister Egemen Bagis, who is also Turkey's chief negotiator in EU accession talks, was quoted as saying in the mass-selling Hurriyet daily.

"The doors of the Turkish banking sector... are always open to them," he added. Daniel Cohn-Bendit, co-president of the Greens in the European Parliament, has also called on rich Muslims to empty their bank accounts in Switzerland in retaliation for Sunday's referendum.

Turkish leaders on Tuesday harshly denounced the ban, calling it a reflection of growing Islamophobia in Europe and urging Switzerland to "come back from this mistake as soon as possible." Sunday's vote saw more than 57 percent back a proposition by a right wing party for a constitutional ban on the construction of new minarets, overriding opposition from the government and the bulk of Switzerland's political parties.

http://www.almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=113630&language=en

[sepheronx]

Oh no, ooooh so scared. What will the Swiss ever do now?

What a joke. Let the Muslims take their worthless pocket change. Not like it will hurt the Swiss in anyway.

[dredger14]

"The doors of the Turkish banking sector... are always open to them," he added. Daniel Cohn-Bendit, co-president of the Greens in the European Parliament, has also called on rich Muslims to empty their bank accounts in Switzerland in retaliation for Sunday's referendum.

http://www.almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=113630&language=en

I would love to see how this plays out...

[koevoetconstable]

I would MUCH rather have my money in a Turkish bank than a Swiss one. LOL

[coltfan111]

Just driving the wedge between Turkey and EU membership again.

[pg_ord]

The doors of the Turkish banking sector... are always open to them
Aha... playing with people's emotion and making money, I think this is halal. :roll:

[nasiru]

i remembered someone saying this kind of thing would happen in the minaret thread or the other one that got closed.

[Lazy Lob]

And why should any good muslim want to have their money in a Swiss bank anyway?

[JBH22]

And why should any good muslim want to have their money in a Swiss bank anyway?

Because the Swiss are the best bankersrofl

[ggk]

because muslims are rich ........ wait

[sepheronx]

because muslims are rich ........ wait

Maybe the Saudi prince.

[JBH22]

because muslims are rich ........ wait

GUD joke if you claim all of the 1billion muslims are rich

[ggk]

i know right..the turkish minister were inviting the arab prince to transfer their money to turkish bank... the saudi probably going to say..."whut? dawg its a minaret..and theres only six of em foos"

[Mr Gently Benevolent]

Just driving the wedge between Turkey and EU membership again.I don't think the EU is really bothered about this spat as they themselves have been trying to weaken the Swiss banking system for the last couple of years. I think the EU and US State and Treasury Dept's are smirking to themselves over this minaret debacle.

[TheKiwi]

The key point of Switzerlands banking system is that it is contained within a stable political environment where the government isn't going to out of the blue suddenly confiscate your wealth. For this reason, I'd be amazed if anyone moves their money as a result of this.

[Trenk]

when it comes to money, rich muslims are able to put the religion aside... I wouldn´t be worried at all.

[Paya]

Tough chance. In this cynical new world, those with money tend to be less (if at all) religious. Especially "I will vent my religious fervor at the Swiss banking sector" kind of religious.

[Zarak]

Half of it is probably money intended for Al Qaeda and Hezbollah anyway, so **** 'em.

[m.i.t]

State Minister Egemen Bagis, who is also Turkey's chief negotiator in EU accession talks, .
http://www.almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=113630&language=en

" chief negotiator in EU accession talks " . This is really funny.

l think his counterpart negoatiators will not like his statemenet. :)

[ggk]

Half of it is probably money intended for Al Qaeda and Hezbollah anyway, so **** 'em.

if al qaeda receive only a fart of these rich arabs money... they wouldnt bother trying hard in pakistan and afganistan... transfer money to cayman island bank.....walla Texas sold.

[I can't think of a name]

How else will they embezzle their money?

[4X4Driver]

Pretty old news though. He said this couple of days after the referandum..

It's a typical AKP mentality... :)

[WingCommander]

Half of it is probably money intended for Al Qaeda and Hezbollah anyway, so **** 'em.

well done!

you made yourself look like a t**t.

[Tribun]

when it comes to money, rich muslims are able to put the religion aside... I wouldn´t be worried at all.

X2 this is exactly what I thought myself...

[Panchito12]

Just another nail in the coffin of (1) Turkey's request to join the EU, and (2) Turkey's claim of alleged Europeaness.

[Excalibur]

Just another nail in the coffin of (1) Turkey's request to join the EU, and (2) Turkey's claim of alleged Europeaness.
This has nothing to do with EU. Swiss is not EU member.
However, this puts Turkey in his true colors.

[AgentX]

I urge the Swiss bankers to seize 2.5% of all Islamic gold (zakat?) and donate the proceedings to help rebuild A'stan and Iraq. p-)

[zulu261]

Thank you Turkey, you showed another time that youre not ready for beeing part of a big coalition (EU...).

It wont hurt swiss banks that much. Really rich muslims will stay with swiss the banks anyway.

[Panchito12]

I urge the Swiss bankers to seize 2.5% of all Islamic gold (zakat?) and donate the proceedings to help rebuild A'stan and Iraq. p-)

Screw that, use the money to reimburse the coalition forces for their expenses.

[BorisA]

@ CoRe

yes we have a lot to learn. In this case from the former german finance minister who threatened the swiss with good ol'german rhetoric....maybe Erdogan also should change his tone.

And about muslim wealth, well not only the Saudis have money....

[Eye]

AFAIK it's forbidden to build any churches in Saudi Arabia. Let's boycott them and don't bye their oil. :roll:

[Panchito12]

^^^We need their oil, they need our $$$. They don't want our Churches, we don't want their mosques. Fair trade if you ask me.

[JBH22]

^^^We need their oil, they need our $$$. They don't want our Churches, we don't want their mosques. Fair trade if you ask me.

more than a fair deal IMO given the influx of immigrants in EU and north america

[ggk]

AFAIK it's forbidden to build any churches in Saudi Arabia. Let's boycott them and don't bye their oil. :roll:

oh for GOD sake!!! you guys livin in a sand box or something???

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/6110/hinderu.jpg
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/6258/dohachurch1.jpg
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/4457/churchqatar0319.jpg
http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/4630/qatar.jpg

Now can we build mosque in Moscow?

[JBH22]

oh for GOD sake!!! you guys livin in a sand box or something???


Now can we build mosque in Moscow?

In moscow rofl ,i think you know Russia is not France or UK.

[Gentius]

Well it was matter of time befor anyone would say this, eitherway I doubt anyone would take away their money. As some say, rich ppl are less religious.

But what the f*** was Switzerland thinking when holding referendums like that, pull it on any EU country and they will vote the same and so would muslim majority countries. Soon we would end up banning eachothers religious buildings. Take an example my country which happend to have 95% muslim majority population is building one of the tallest religious buildings in the region and no it aint a Mosque with giant minerats, its Roman Catholic cathedral, 65m tall and its located in the middle of the capital. Throw a referendum and its no way in hell it would pass, especially being the tallest one.
http://www.daylife.com/photo/06mVgQogu96vF?q=Kosovo

Just my 0.2 cents

[ggk]

In moscow rofl ,i think you know Russia is not France or UK.

well they did say if the saudis allowed build church in the kingdom they will allow one in Moscow...remember? it was posted somewhere here.

[JBH22]

well they did say if the saudis allowed build church in the kingdom they will allow one in Moscow...remember? it was posted somewhere here.

yep if the Saudis allow them to build an orthodox church they will let them..

[Ulytau]

well they did say if the saudis allowed build church in the kingdom they will allow one in Moscow...remember? it was posted somewhere here.

Bro in Moscow they already started building a Mosque with 75 meter minarets,if Turkish businesss are building this it wont be surprise to me rofl

Btw about EU issue,some dudes wont be bored yet with keep saying that ? rofl as i read open accounts have like 50 Billion Dollar but if secret accounts emptying will be biggest problem even Saudis called for empyting bank accounts too.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Russian_President_Plans_Visit_To_Moscows_Grand_Mosque/1759735.html

[ggk]

yep if the Saudis allow them to build an orthodox church they will let them..

semantics..... arabic words have more semantics than shakespere clone troopers.. you can start play it if you want..im out.

[hulaku]

oh for GOD sake!!! you guys livin in a sand box or something???

Now can we build mosque in Moscow?

Where are these pics from?

[4X4Driver]

Just another nail in the coffin of (1) Turkey's request to join the EU

Yep.and it's in the best interest of Turkey.

[ggk]

Where are these pics from?

in saudi arabia....

St. Mary's Roman Catholic church in Doha, Qatar, on March 15, 2008.

[Zarak]

in saudi arabia....

St. Mary's Roman Catholic church in Doha, Qatar, on March 15, 2008.



Qatar is a different country.

[ggk]

you have got to be kidding me...im tired man..i just return from my jungle trip... have a good night sleep.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


Interfaith dialogue has become an important exercise in finding the right words to overcome both extreme violence and ordinary misunderstanding. True progress, however, is best measured in deeds. The inauguration last week of Qatar's first Christian church — a small Catholic chapel bearing neither bells nor visible crosses — has been hailed as a welcome step forward in relations between Catholicism and Islam. But an even more dramatic development is under discussion just across the border: The Vatican has confirmed that it is negotiating for permission to build the first church in Saudi Arabia.

Presiding over the cradle of Islam and home to its holiest sites, the Saudi monarchy has long banned the open worship of other faiths, even as the number of Catholics resident in Saudi Arabia has risen to 800,000 thanks to an influx of immigrant workers from places like the Philippines and India. Mosques are the only houses of prayer in a country where the strict Wahhabi version of Sunni Islam dominates. But Archbishop Paul-Mounged El-Hachem, the papal envoy to the smaller countries on the Arabian peninsula, such as Kuwait and Qatar, has confirmed that talks are under way to establish formal diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Saudi Arabia, and to eventually allow for Catholic churches to be built there. Pope Benedict XVI is believed to have personally appealed to King Abdullah on the topic during the Saudi monarch's first ever visit to the Vatican last November.

Top Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said that a Catholic parish in this key Islamic country would be "a historic achievement" in the push to expand religious freedom and foster a positive interfaith *******. Under Benedict, the Catholic hierarchy has stepped up calls from its Muslim counterparts for "reciprocity," demanding that the same religious freedom enjoyed by Muslims in the West should be granted to Christian minorities in the Islamic world. They note that Europe's biggest mosque, built with Saudi funds, was opened in 1995 in Rome, just across the river from the Vatican.

Pope Benedict passionately condemned last week's death of Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, Paulos Faraj Rahho, who was kidnapped on Feb. 29 in the northern Iraqi city. As many as 350,000 of the 800,000 Christians in Iraq before the war have since fled the country, while smaller but similar exoduses have occurred in the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and other parts of the Arab world.

While Christians in those areas trace their roots to the earliest centuries of the faith, the Catholics in Saudi Arabia are mostly migrant workers. And the restrictions on any outward manifestation of their religious beliefs have been particularly severe. The celebration of non-Muslim holidays is forbidden, as is the wearing of crucifixes and other religious symbols.

Benedict has been seen as both stumbling block and catalyst in the search to improve relations between Christians and Muslims. His Septempber 2006 lecture at Regensberg University in Germany on the relationship between faith and reason, and how it might explain religiously inspired violence, included an offensive historical reference to the Prophet Muhammed. But after initial Muslim anger at his remarks cooled — and the Pope made a conciliatory visit to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul — there have been signs of a productive Catholic-Islam dialogue taking shape.

Prominent Muslim and Christian clerics have exchanged messages expressing a mutual desire for better understanding, and Vatican officials last month announced the first in a series of high-level meetings with Muslims next November, which will include an appearance by Benedict.

In little-reported remarks just three months after his controversial speech in Germany, the Pope spoke of the challenge posed to Islam by a violent minority within its ranks. "The Muslim world today is finding itself faced with an urgent task. This task is very similar to the one that has been imposed upon Christians since the Enlightenment," Benedict said in a speech to officials of the Roman Curia. "On the one hand, one must counter a dictatorship of positivist reason that excludes God from the life of the community and from public organizations, thereby depriving man of his specific criteria of judgment. On the other, one must welcome the true conquests of the Enlightenment, human rights and especially the freedom of faith and its practice, and recognize these also as being essential elements for the authenticity of religion."
After Easter week, Benedict will no doubt be focusing on his next big speech, where some of the same themes may very well recur. On April 18, the pontiff arrives in New York to address the General Assembly of the United Nations.


Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1723715,00.html#ixzz0ZZXm0nWT (http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1723715,00.html#ixzz0ZZXm0nWT)

[ggk]

Qatar is a different country.

i probably mixed it with UAE..but what the heck they are cousin anyway..those prince.

[hulaku]

in saudi arabia....

St. Mary's Roman Catholic church in Doha, Qatar, on March 15, 2008.




Qatar=/=Saudi Arabia

[ggk]

above ..............gnite

[annihilation]

you have got to be kidding me...im tired man..i just return from my jungle trip... have a good night sleep.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


Interfaith dialogue has become an important exercise in finding the right words to overcome both extreme violence and ordinary misunderstanding. True progress, however, is best measured in deeds. The inauguration last week of Qatar's first Christian church — a small Catholic chapel bearing neither bells nor visible crosses — has been hailed as a welcome step forward in relations between Catholicism and Islam. But an even more dramatic development is under discussion just across the border: The Vatican has confirmed that it is negotiating for permission to build the first church in Saudi Arabia.

Presiding over the cradle of Islam and home to its holiest sites, the Saudi monarchy has long banned the open worship of other faiths, even as the number of Catholics resident in Saudi Arabia has risen to 800,000 thanks to an influx of immigrant workers from places like the Philippines and India. Mosques are the only houses of prayer in a country where the strict Wahhabi version of Sunni Islam dominates. But Archbishop Paul-Mounged El-Hachem, the papal envoy to the smaller countries on the Arabian peninsula, such as Kuwait and Qatar, has confirmed that talks are under way to establish formal diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Saudi Arabia, and to eventually allow for Catholic churches to be built there. Pope Benedict XVI is believed to have personally appealed to King Abdullah on the topic during the Saudi monarch's first ever visit to the Vatican last November.

Top Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said that a Catholic parish in this key Islamic country would be "a historic achievement" in the push to expand religious freedom and foster a positive interfaith *******. Under Benedict, the Catholic hierarchy has stepped up calls from its Muslim counterparts for "reciprocity," demanding that the same religious freedom enjoyed by Muslims in the West should be granted to Christian minorities in the Islamic world. They note that Europe's biggest mosque, built with Saudi funds, was opened in 1995 in Rome, just across the river from the Vatican.

Pope Benedict passionately condemned last week's death of Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, Paulos Faraj Rahho, who was kidnapped on Feb. 29 in the northern Iraqi city. As many as 350,000 of the 800,000 Christians in Iraq before the war have since fled the country, while smaller but similar exoduses have occurred in the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and other parts of the Arab world.

While Christians in those areas trace their roots to the earliest centuries of the faith, the Catholics in Saudi Arabia are mostly migrant workers. And the restrictions on any outward manifestation of their religious beliefs have been particularly severe. The celebration of non-Muslim holidays is forbidden, as is the wearing of crucifixes and other religious symbols.

Benedict has been seen as both stumbling block and catalyst in the search to improve relations between Christians and Muslims. His Septempber 2006 lecture at Regensberg University in Germany on the relationship between faith and reason, and how it might explain religiously inspired violence, included an offensive historical reference to the Prophet Muhammed. But after initial Muslim anger at his remarks cooled — and the Pope made a conciliatory visit to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul — there have been signs of a productive Catholic-Islam dialogue taking shape.

Prominent Muslim and Christian clerics have exchanged messages expressing a mutual desire for better understanding, and Vatican officials last month announced the first in a series of high-level meetings with Muslims next November, which will include an appearance by Benedict.

In little-reported remarks just three months after his controversial speech in Germany, the Pope spoke of the challenge posed to Islam by a violent minority within its ranks. "The Muslim world today is finding itself faced with an urgent task. This task is very similar to the one that has been imposed upon Christians since the Enlightenment," Benedict said in a speech to officials of the Roman Curia. "On the one hand, one must counter a dictatorship of positivist reason that excludes God from the life of the community and from public organizations, thereby depriving man of his specific criteria of judgment. On the other, one must welcome the true conquests of the Enlightenment, human rights and especially the freedom of faith and its practice, and recognize these also as being essential elements for the authenticity of religion."
After Easter week, Benedict will no doubt be focusing on his next big speech, where some of the same themes may very well recur. On April 18, the pontiff arrives in New York to address the General Assembly of the United Nations.


Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1723715,00.html#ixzz0ZZXm0nWT (http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1723715,00.html#ixzz0ZZXm0nWT)



"The inauguration last week of Qatar's first Christian church — a small Catholic chapel bearing neither bells nor visible crosses "

No crosses and no bells. I would have no problem with the building of Mosques in the same fashion, i think it would work great and be more accepting for everyone. No calls 5 times a day and no visible signs just like no crosses or bells. Out of site out of mind kind of thing.

Also about Qatar - its not part of Saudi Arabia.

Per the wiki.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quatar

In 2001, Qatar resolved its longstanding border disputes with both Bahrain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahrain) and Saudi Arabia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia).

When contrasted with other Arab states such as Saudi Arabia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia), for instance, Qatar has comparatively liberal laws,

[ggk]

ah good morning.

i stand corrected on Qatar no part of Saudi Arabia...the Times wrote cofusing articles. Anyway i think its a great start here.. usually a lot of people just lump all arab nation into one pile of sand and started generalising about them... its good that some of you guys started see them nation to nation basis.

If one see the picture you can see the pic ..you can notice the big cross there..but yeah no bell.. maybe acoustic regulation (lol)