Zurich, Germany: Zurich’s security department urged Swiss federal government to ban the public distribution of Quran, which is done under the umbrella of a campaign Islamic ‘READ!’.
The ‘READ!’ campaign was started by Germany’s DWR “True Religion” group in 2011 with the goal of distributing 25 million Korans across Europe, reported ht.
But DWR was banned in Germany last November for radicalising youngsters and “propagating extremist ideologies and supporting terrorist organisations under the pretext of Islam”, according to German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere.
The recommendation to ban the campaign was contrary to the laws of religious freedom in Germany, said the federal government. “The community is not obliged to allow public space as a platform for spreading views that are irreconcilable with our society’s basic and fundamental values,” Zurich’s Security Department wrote, citing a legal opinion it had sought.
The Association of Islamic Organisations in Zurich, however, do not expect anything negative consequences as a result of banning the campaign. “We generally prefer individuals to be informed about Islam in mosques or for members to engage in local dialogue,” the association said in an emailed statement.
The Zurich security officials told federal intelligence that they don’t want to take away the religious freedom of people. However, the groups, related to extremists should not be provided with any public platform for Quran distribution.