2009 Swiss minaret referendum

Federal popular initiative
"against the construction of minarets"

Results
Choice Votes % Yes 1,535,610 57.51% No 1,134,440 42.49% Valid votes 2,670,050 98.55% Invalid or blank votes 39,237 1.45% Total votes 2,709,287 100.00% Eligible to vote/turnout 5,039,676 53.76%
The results of the November 2009 referendum by canton. Red indicates opposition to the ban of minarets, green support of the ban.

The federal popular initiative "against the construction of minarets" was a successful popular initiative in Switzerland to prevent the construction of minarets on mosques. In a November 2009 referendum, a constitutional amendment banning the construction of new minarets was approved by 57.5% of the participating voters.^[1] Only three of the twenty Swiss cantons and one half canton,^[2] mostly in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, opposed the initiative.

This referendum originates from action on 1 May 2007, when a group of right of centre politicians, mainly from the Swiss People's Party and the Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland, the Egerkinger Komittee ("Egerkingen Committee") launched a federal popular initiative that sought a constitutional ban on minarets. The minaret at the mosque of the local Turkish cultural association in Wangen bei Olten was the initial motivation for the initiative.

The Swiss government recommended that the proposed amendment be rejected as inconsistent with the basic principles of the constitution.^[3] However, after the results were tabulated, the government immediately announced that the ban was in effect.^[4]

As of the date of the 2009 vote, there were four minarets in Switzerland, attached to mosques in Zürich, Geneva, Winterthur and Wangen bei Olten. These existing minarets were not affected by the ban, as they had already been constructed.