The "contact hypothesis" states that "interpersonal contact is one of the most effective ways to reduce prejudice between majority and minority group members". In the aftermath of Switzerland's infamous 2009 vote to ban the construction of new minarets, the simple theory yet again proved powerful:
Is this how American evangelicals would've responded?
After the shock victory of the minaret ban, the analysts reacted in force. More women than men supported the ban but the most significant finding for many was that the ban won in areas where few if any Muslims lived, and it was defeated in the areas where Muslims were concentrated. The conclusion? Fear of the unknown, stirred up by rhetoric of the pro-ban forces, was the major factor explaining support for the ban.
A government official involved in the dialogue cited a poignant example of how knowledge plays into prejudice. Switzerland has a Miss Switzerland but also a Mr. Switzerland who is celebrated all over the country. The winner of the competition in 2009 said that he had voted for the ban; he was against the rampant Islamicization of Switzerland, he said. But after he was invited to attend Friday prayers at a mosque, he had the gumption to state publicly that he had been wrong to oppose minarets, because he realized that the people he met were in fact nice and decent people. The overall sense, in short, was that the more people who knew Muslims, the less fearsome they found both religion and people (a conclusion echoed in the United States and other countries).
Martin Buhlmann, leader of the evangelical Vineyard movement in Switzerland and the German-speaking countries, said Christians should stop reacting in fear to the growing Muslim population and instead seize the opportunity to minister to these people. He is launching a new initiative in 2010 in Switzerland and the German capital of Berlin, which seeks to mobilize 2,010 Christian families who are willing to invite Muslim neighbors for a meal. Buhlmann told the magazine that “The gospel is shared through relationships. Political marginalization only hardens people's hearts.”To end on a lighter note, this is the contact hypothesis at work:
