(RFE/RL) -- Early results from a referendum today in Switzerland suggest that the majority of voters have backed a ban on the construction of new minarets in the country.
Switzerland, home to some 400,000 Muslims, already has four minarets attached to mosques that will remain even if the referendum passes.
"The initiative would appear to be accepted; there is a positive trend. It's a huge surprise," a report on French-language television said, 30 minutes after polls closed at midday.
The final results are due to be released later today.
The controversial proposal to ban minarets was brought forward by the right wing Swiss People’s Party, which says minarets are a sign of Islamization.
The Swiss government had urged voters to reject the proposed ban on new minarets, saying it would violate religious freedom and human rights, as well as potentially provoking Islamist radicalism and harming Switzerland’s image.
Campaigners demanded the referendum to halt "political Islamization" by amending the Swiss constitution to add a clause stating "the construction of minarets is prohibited."
‘Political Symbol’
The referendum was called after campaigners collected the 100,000 signatures required to put the question to a nationwide vote.
Right wing politician Ulrich Schluer from the Swiss People's Party told the Swiss website swissinfo.ch that minarets symbolize a political-religious claim to power.
“We do not forbid Islam -- we forbid the political symbol of Islamization, and this is the minaret,â€
