In Zurich, a taboo is falling. Socialist State Councillor Jacqueline Fehr wants Muslim communities to be able to benefit directly from public funds, just like recognized churches.
In an interview given to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, she calls for an engaged cooperation between the state and religions, and opposes a strict separation between state and spirituality. According to her, ‘we should not move away from religion, but get closer to it, even when it’s complex’.
While Muslims remain the group most targeted by prejudice in Switzerland, Fehr stands by her position:
‘Yes, Islam is also part of Switzerland.’
She argues that if Muslim communities offer transparent services to the public, they should be able to receive direct funding, just like the Reformed and Catholic Churches – which will receive 300 million francs over six years for their services to the community.
In parallel, these two Churches have themselves proposed, on their own initiative, to give back one million francs per year to Muslim and Eastern Orthodox Christian communities. A voluntary gesture that Jacqueline Fehr welcomes, but which she considers as just an intermediate step towards more equitable recognition.
