Muslim couple denied Swiss citizenship after refusing to shake hands - Sensationalist Headlines

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-45232147 A Muslim couple have been denied Swiss citizenship after they refused to shake hands with people of the opposite sex during their interview, officials say. They confirmed the decision on Friday, further citing the couple's failure to integrate and respect gender equality. The couple, interviewed months ago, also struggled to answer questions by members of the opposite sex. Days ago a Swedish Muslim woman won compensation after a job interview was ended when she refused to shake hands. The Swiss authorities said aspiring citizens must be well integrated into the Swiss community and demonstrate an attachment to Switzerland, its institutions and a respect for the Swiss legal order. They would not reveal specifics about the couple, who local media said were North African, but confirmed they felt the couple had failed to meet citizenship criteria when they applied in the city of Lausanne. The mayor of Lausanne, Gregoire Junod, told news agency AFP freedom of religion was enshrined in local laws but "religious practice does not fall outside the law." The couple were not asked about their faith, authorities said, though their religion seemed apparent, local media reported. Officials stressed they were not rejected based on their religion but for their lack of respect for gender equality. "The constitution and equality between men and women prevails over bigotry," said Pierre-Antoine Hilbrand, who was part of the commission that interviewed the couple. This not the first time refused handshakes have stirred controversy in Switzerland. In 2016, a Swiss school decided to exempt two Muslim boys from shaking both male and female teachers' hands after they refused to shake hands with a female teacher. The news caused uproar and led to the family's citizenship process being suspended. In neighbouring France, an Algerian woman was denied citizenship after refusing to shake the hand of an official during her citizenship ceremony.

It's such a petty thing to deny citizenship for. I guess we've forgotten the mere idea of actually adhering to tenets of faith these days. The instant implication that someone adhering to principles of modesty/temptation and is simply just sexist is an incredible leap. Christians once covered their heads too. Would Swiss citizens deny a Jain citizenship for turning down a meal with potatoes? People believe all kinds of dumb shit, but I thought one of the principles of our entire society was to respect peoples religious differences, whether that's not shaking hands with non-family members or not eating potatoes. Seriously - they are denying citizenship and threatening deportation over what, the threat of a slightly awkward moment when someone reaches for a handshake? Is that what we qualify as not being integrated into society? Is that the limit of our tolerance.. an awkward moment?

A meal with potatoes doesn't have a gender though.

I think it's more about the fact that they interacted with male interviewers differently then with female interviewers. I'm not against religion beliefs, but when it allows you treat certain groups as less then another group, is that okay? Even if it's just a handshake.

Kind of split here - on the one hand, rejectiong over a handshake is petty On the another, the article seems to imply that it might have been more than about a handshake - and so, if according to the authorities they didn't adhere to the principal of gender equality, then they have nobody else to blame, than themselves - and afaik, it's hard to obtain Swiss citzenship in first place, so they must be strict about it And also, take the example of the muslim woman in Sweden, that got rejected in job interview also because of a handshake - but unlike that couple, she sticked to the gender equality pricipal by greeting both genders in a different way, one that was allowed by her religion, and it was fine

This is absolutely disgusting. aspiring citizens must be well integrated into the Swiss community Draconian requirements like these have no place in modern society, and should be staunchly opposed.

Good. If you can't value another person's humanity based on their sex then you should fuck off. It's your responsibility to assimilate to the nation you are moving to because citizenship is a privilege.

What. How is it draconian to ask potential immigrants to take on your values, at least in public spaces, and respect your legal institutions?

They weren't rejected based on the handshake thing, this was simply CITED in the report which undoubtedly had more reasons for the rejection.

Which seems to be that they primarily treated the female interviewers with less respect than the male viewers, which is a big problem. I really wish people couldn't hide behind religion as an excuse for being sexist, racist, homophobic, etc. It's just a massive scapegoat for being an asshole. What's draconian is being sexist. I don't want diversity if it means legally protected sexism.

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so even if they were successful, intelligent people who society could benefit, one measly physical contact ceremony denies them. yet a pointless unskilled person can get in with shitstained hands and still get in by transferring his disease over. that makes no sense.

The article says they were refused citizenship for not respecting people of a specific gender, not just for the handshake. Sorry for the slightly sensationalist title

of course it's draconian.. these situations remind me of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ctu10n2uRCg

Because all that matters about project in a society is their utility? And not their values?

and it's not even meant as a sign of disrespect either which makes it even more pathetic.

What???

you're standing up for all people to have the exact same beliefs, do the same things, think the same way and fart at the same time. it is pathetic. westerners are starting to get anal again after growing out of it after these years. it's a tough world, but we don't have to shift back to the middle ages and become sheep.

The couple, interviewed months ago, also struggled to answer questions by members of the opposite sex. So it's not like handshake was the only reason why they haven't got citizenship.

you will deny a neurosurgeon citizenship if she respectfully declines a handshake, only because of ur sudden modern anality about your so called values which come out of ur arse. western values are far more complex than a handshake. in this day and age, average young-middle-aged people absolutely don't greet strangers with a handshake. you go on holiday and meet other strangers, how many people's hands do you shake?

Treating women as people should be mandatory, if you disagree, get the fuck out of the actually civilized place that does

The only people getting "giddy" are the ones going "How could they be denied just for refusing a handshake!" Because they didn't read the article or understand what happened.

People are rating this winner over the handshake mate, come on. Right, so do we revoke the citizenship of domestic abusers, very conservative christians or really any sexist cunt too? Do you understand why a lot of muslims feel like they are held to a higher standard or have to prove themselves more? It’s laughable to suggest that all native Europeans are progressive and female loving themselves. Even though the handshake wasn’t the reason these people were thrown out, the idea of booting muslims out of the country over shit like this is stupid and counterproductive.

It's not about the handshake itself, it's about why they refused it. The motive not the action.

if thats your real issue you should say so. im glad someone actually speaks their mind instead of making up bullshit about "value" this and that. now that you've started your true issue about islamic culture rather than the supposed handshake malarkay then we can do that.

I know many Muslims who aren't shit heads, so let's not pretend it's about Islamic culture as a whole

Not all people that practice Islam are shitheads, but the culture from Islam itself is absolutely awful.

How much time to adapt are they given before they're judged on whether they are integrating or not?

You can't be accepting while being unwilling to accept others' cultures. The swiss were in the right here IMO.

Yeah I don’t see the problem. You want to get into a country, you’re upheld by those countries standards. It’s like when my sister visits India she wears clothes that are modest despite being against it, because she’s not gonna be a foreigner disrespecting another countries values from within.