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Switzerland: Muslim women can be religious leaders Via the Local : A new Swiss study has found that some Muslim women have more say in their communities than many Christian or Jewish women. Researchers from the National Science Foundation wanted to know which women had the option of taking on leadership roles within their religious communities. The results obtained by Sunday newspaper SonntagsBlick, found that while some Islamic groups were conservative, many others were surprisingly liberal. �Particularly in the Alevi and Sufi groups, women have more opportunities to advance to positions of spiritual leadership," J�rg Stolz, professor of sociology and religion at the University of Lausanne, told SonntagsBlick.  ( source )

Switzerland: Priest who runs anti-Islam website faces probe Via the Local : A Reformist priest from a tiny Bernese village is under investigation by church leaders after it emerged that she helped run a fanatical anti-Islamic website. The Council of Reformist Churches for Bern, Solothurn and Jura has criticised the priest, and declared her activities on website �Politically Incorrect� to be �incompatible� with her position as a priest due to the �Islam-baiting� that takes place on it, newspaper Tages Anzeiger reported. ( source )

Switzerland: Anti-Islam group must be protected Via the Local : The Federal Court says an anti-Islam group has the right to give out leaflets from an information booth if it wants � and the local authorities must protect them. Fribourg Council banned the group � The Movement Against the Islamization of Switzerland � from setting up an information booth Place Georges-Python during the anti-minaret campaign in 2009. It said it refused to give permission because of a fear that violence and unrest would break out as a result, provoking a legal challenge. ( source )

Switzerland: Muslim cemeteries seen as 'long-term investments' Via WRS : TUNGER: �At one point, earlier or later, you have to tackle this question, because the Muslims are there.  They have the constitutional right for a decent burial.  What experience shows is that more than a dozen municipalities in Switzerland have found a solution by a process in which local authorities and local Muslims sit at a table and  discuss what possibilities do we have, what solutions do we have.  Almost everywhere a solution has been found.� Cornel Suter at Lucerne�s cemetery says working with the local Muslim association has been helpful for a number of reasons�pointing out religious requirements, helping with language, or even mediating cultural differences.  He is thankful for that. Researcher Andreas Tunger sees this example as paramount: TUNGER: �What we have seen until now is very much goodwill on this very grassroots level, which the populist tendencies cannot so easily expl...

Switzerland: Language programme aims to boost integration Via SwissInfo : The Federal Migration Office has launched a language training system specifically defined around the integration needs of migrants. The course will be gradually introduced in collaboration with the cantons from the summer. Called �FIDE � learn, teach and assess French, Italian and German in Switzerland�, the training system will become the nationwide norm for immigrant language training. Its focus will be on giving immigrants the language competence needed to undertake such ordinary tasks such as consulting a doctor or attending parent-teacher meetings.  ( source )

Switzerland: Swiss residents join jihad groups Via Swiss Info : Several Swiss residents last year travelled abroad to join jihadist terrorist groups, the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) said on Tuesday, noting that an increase in jihad-motivated travel had been observed generally across Europe. Releasing its annual report on Switzerland�s security situation, FIS said it was aware of several former Swiss residents who are currently in �a jihad area like Somalia or Afghanistan/Pakistan in order to take part in hostilities�. However, the report said that while an increase in jihad-motivated travel movements had been observed across Europe � including in Switzerland � last year, the number of cases remained small, making it difficult to determine if there had been an increase in travel specifically from Switzerland.  ( source )