Crosses to disappear from Switzerland's largest cemetery because they offend members of non-Christian religions

In 1991, when Appenzell Innerrhoden became the last Swiss canton to allow women to vote, renowned cultural observer Christopher Milner said that the move presaged further cultural decline. He was right, as reported by Robert Spencer in Jihad Watch, January 24, 2022 (link in original):

People of “other religions” have been in Switzerland since time immemorial, with no problem. There has, however, recently been an influx of people who believe that the cross is an insult to the power of Allah (cf. Qur’an 4:171). Many of these people are intransigent to the point of violence. Are Swiss authorities trying to appease them?

“Basel bickers over Christian symbols. Crosses to disappear from the largest Swiss cemetery,” translated from “Basler zoffen um christliche Symbole. Kreuze sollen aus dem grössten Schweizer Friedhof verschwinden,” by Rene Hildbrand, Die Weltwoche, January 20, 2022:

There has been a dispute about the cross for years. Time and again, the symbol causes controversy, even though Christians see it as a sign of reconciliation, tolerance and love of one’s neighbor.

There is currently a dispute about this in Riehen, the second largest town in northern Switzerland, with a proportion of foreigners of around 28 per cent. Switzerland’s largest cemetery is located at Hörnli in Riehen.

According to the administration of the central cemetery, more and more people of other faiths feel disturbed by crosses, Christian murals and even chapel names during funerals and ceremonies. The Catholic Church of Basel-Stadt is even showing itself to be compliant.

The spokesperson for the church council told the newspaper Basler Zeitung: “If there are people who consider Christian symbols disturbing in the process, it should be possible to cover them up or carry them out.”

The Protestant Reformed of Basel see things differently. Their church does not need any religious symbols. Nevertheless, the president thinks: “Those to whom these symbols are important should be able to experience and see them.”

There is strong resistance to the displacement of Christian symbols. The SVP party Riehen is fighting to preserve the cemetery culture. In a petition, it calls on parliament and the government council to stop such plans.

The representatives of the Basel Catholics complain: “If the basic furnishings of a chapel are to be without Christian symbols, this is a worrying trend.”

In 2018, the newly elected Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder had a cross hung in his Munich state chancellery in one of his first official acts. Ten years earlier, when he was secretary-general of the Christian Social Union (CSU), Söder had made a mess of things with a single sentence: “Crucifixes belong in classrooms, not headscarves.”

HT: Dracul Van Helsing