It's official, the Swiss are islamophobes.  What is considered a large turn-out, 57% of those voters voted "Yes" to ban minarets.  The government is going to respect the peoples choice and put this into the Swiss constitution.  I think this is totally backward and that the voting topic misses the point.  The Swiss are already known for being xenophobes, and I think the government could have done more to educate people about the consequences of such a decision.  It is not going to stop Islam in Switzerland, it is just going build a larger divide between the "traditional Swiss" and the Islamic community (many of whom are Swiss).

In another backward decision, the voters voted "No" on the Weapons export ban.  68% voted against.  This one is easier for me to see how poeple voted this way, since it would have had a significant impact on the economy.

Is there any news of this in NZ, or elsewhere?