Signatures by 100,000 petitioners are needed in Switzerland for a referendum - including a possible one on banning the construction of minarets on mosques. Deputies from the far-right Swiss People's Party (SVP) and Federal Democratic Union (EDU), who are pushing for a vote, are confident they can collect the signatures by November 2008. Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey voiced opposition this month, saying efforts to impose a ban were harmful to the country's security interests and potentially dangerous to the Swiss themselves. Her spokesman confirmed she considered a referendum a bad idea. Calmy-Rey feels it is too risky to dismiss the campaign for a referendum as a vote-getting tactic ahead of Swiss parliamentary elections in October.
Memories are still fresh of protests in the Muslim world following the publication in Denmark of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.