Muslim girls' Swiss citizenship denied

By Fatih Erel

GENEVA (AA) - Two Muslim schoolgirls have been denied Swiss citizenship after they refused to participate in mixed swimming lessons for religious reasons, local media reported Tuesday.

The girls, aged 12 and 14, were denied citizenship for failing to comply with education requirements including swimming lessons, Stefan Wehrle, head of the naturalization committee in Basel, told TV station SRF.

Swimming lessons are compulsory in many Swiss schools. “Whoever doesn’t fulfill these conditions violates the law and therefore cannot be naturalized,” Wehrle said.

Engin Yilmaz, who deals with religious matters at the Turkish Embassy, told Anadolu Agency: “It is a basic principle for Islam that every organization or law should value everyone's religious sensibilities.”