Swiss authorities rejected the naturalisation application of two Muslim girls who refused to take school swimming lessons because boys were present.
The girls, ages 12 and 14, who live in the northern city of Basel, had applied for Swiss citizenship several months ago, but their request was denied, Swiss media reported Tuesday.
The girls, whose names were not disclosed, said their religion prevents them from participating in compulsory swimming lessons with males in the pool at the same time. Their naturalisation application was rejected because the sisters did not comply with the school curriculum, Basel authorities said.
“Whoever doesn’t fulfil these conditions violates the law and therefore cannot be naturalised,” Stefan Wehrle, president of the naturalisation committee, told TV station SRF on Tuesday.
The case shows how those who don’t follow Swiss rules and customs will not be able to get Swiss citizenship, even if they have lived in the country for a long time, are fluent in one of the national languages — German, French or Italian — and are gainfully employed.
The Alpine country has proved to be strict in its laws of integration.
On Wednesday, a Muslim father from Geneva was fined for refusing to allow his daughters to take swimming lessons at school.
READ MORE: Swiss court fines Muslim man for blocking daughters’ swimming lessons
In 2012, a family was fined $1,500 for forbidding their daughters to participate in swimming classes. The matter eventually ended up in the Supreme Court, which ruled that no dispensations from swimming lessons should be made on religious grounds.
In April, members of an immigrant family in the Basel area were denied citizenship because they wore sweatpants around town and did not greet passersby — a sure sign that they were not sufficiently assimilated, the naturalisation board claimed.
Another recent case sparked widespread outrage in Switzerland when two Muslim brothers refused to shake hands with their female teacher, also citing religious restrictions. Shaking hands with a teacher is a common practice in Swiss schools.
After that incident was widely publicised, authorities suspended the naturalisation request from the boys’ father, an imam at the Basel mosque.
In Switzerland, unlike in the United States and many other countries, integration into society is more important for naturalisation than knowledge of national history or politics. Candidates for citizenship must prove that they are well assimilated in their communities and respect local customs and traditions.
In Switzerland, local town or village councils make initial decisions on naturalisation applications. If they decide a candidate is not an upstanding member of the community, the application will be denied and not forwarded to canton (state) and federal authorities for further processing.
Courtesy: USA Today