Did Switzerland ban Hijab and refuse to recognize Islam as religion? Fact Check

Claim: Hijab has been banned in Switzerland and Islam is not recognized as a religion.

Conclusion: Misleading. While the first claim is partly true as covering face is banned, the second claim that Islam is not recognized is false.

Rating: Misleading —

Click the image to see the complete fact check details in video.

Or Read the article below.

************************************************************************

A viral photo is being shared on social media showing two women standing in front of a wall poster of a woman wearing a veil with a caption that reads “Non Au Voile” or translated to English, it reads: “No To The Veil”. The claim says that the hijab has been banned in Switzerland after a referendum and that Islam is no longer recognised as a religion there. Another claim said, “”Switzerland has banned the burqa on its streets by referendum and refused to make Islam official as a religion.”

 

FACT-CHECK

Digiteye India, after receiving a request to fact check on its WhatsApp Tipline, checked for the original image and its source on Google Reverse Image Search. The original image is from a feminist French group named ‘Collectif Nemesis‘, active in France and Switzerland, who oppose the hijab or veil. Both the women in the picture are the spokespersons of the group who can be seen here. Further search on their website reveals the original video where the same poster featuring the two women can be seen on Istagram.

Secondly, it was true that Switzerland has banned the niqab, a cloth covering face or burqas, a cloth covering the full body — via a referendum in 2021. However, there is no such specific law or Act to claim that Islam is not recognised as a religion in Switzerland. The government website on religion states that the freedom of religion is a fundamental right protected by the Federal Constitution. It clearly states that the country adheres to the freedom of religion.

Hence, the fact that Switzerland banned items that fully covered people’s faces in public is true, but the second claim is false.

 

About Arun Nag

Arun is with Digiteye India since the beginning as the main source for re-writing copies and re-checking the facts and images. He writes on general and tech issues. He can be reached at arunnag@digiteye.in

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.