To minaret or not to minaret? That is the question.

I found the response to the Swiss referendum on the issue of allowing minarets interesting. No, I found it stupid.
Those who have commented on the news lament the failure of democracy. I wonder how they consider a majority vote of the people to be a failure.
Nevertheless, it just shows the ingrained naivety and probably stupidity of those who still believe in the ideals of freedom of religion should be extended to the Muslims living in western countries. Nobody seems to have a problem with the fact that Muslim countries, in accordance with Islamic laws, forbid the building of churches.
But who wants to contemplate that notion?

The first indications of a backlash against the Muslim infiltration of western countries was the French who banned the veil. Considering how many Muslims now make up the French population, it seems too little too late.
The Swiss, who are approaching the critical 5% point of Muslims within Switzerland seem well tuned to the dangers of growing pressure exerted by Muslim communities to allow Sharia law to creep into their way of life.

Forget about whether there are radical Muslims or not. That isn't the issue. We can talk about the "majority" being peace loving citizens till the cows come home.

The Swiss populace have managed to grasp what most other Europeans have either failed to grasp or have realized too late to be able to do anything.
Culture is not static. Culture can change over time, it can change through mass influx of immigration bringing alien culture to a community.
With Islamic culture comes the mounting pressure to accommodate a new and different set of values. Noticed the absence of the word "Christmas" recently?
No doubt, it has come about by an overwhelming desire to be inoffensive to other cultures. And what cultures might these be? Certainly not the Jewish or the Hindi or the Buddhists. Let's face it the culture that pressures us to change is Muslim culture. The culture that finds Christmas offensive is Muslim culture. The culture that abhors western liberalism, freedom of thought and expression is Muslim culture. The culture that is shocked by naked flesh is Muslim culture.
The culture that perceives socializing between females and males as debasing to the female is Muslim culture. The culture that perceives scantily clad women as deserving to be raped is Muslim culture.
The minaret is on it's own, merely a symbol. In fact so is the veil. But what a symbol. The veil symbolizes the suppression and subjugation of women. The minaret symbolizes all that is Islamic. It is prominent, it is loud and it calls to prayer five times per day on loudspeakers. The church bells might ring once on a Sunday but the minaret is calling to Muslims everyday, seven days a week, five times a day.
Who wants that in their neighborhood?