The Swiss politician Daniel Streich, who rose to fame as a result of his opposition to mosques in his homeland, has now embraced the faith he reviled.
Daniel Streich was a member of then Swiss People's Party (SVP) in Switzerland. A well-known politician, Streich led the calls for a ban on minarets across Switzerland. He was active in building anti-Muslim sentiments throughout Switzerland. This sustained campaign led to him being given a high ranking position in the Swiss Army.
Streich left the SVP in November 2009 calling his party's campaign against Islam as a 'witch hunt.' The date coincided with the second anniversary of Streich's conversion which he had kept secret from the party.
With the party's campaign to ban minarets leading to a referendum, Streich said the situation had become unbearable for him.
In the lead up to the ban Streich said "If the initiative passes, it will be an absolute deep blow for me. I would have to ask myself, why I applied myself professionally and politically for over 30 years for this political system. It is not worthy of Switzerland to force Muslims to practice their faith in back alleys."
Streich is a military instructor in the Swiss army and was said to be a committed Christian reading the Bible and attending Church regularly.
He was also committed to his party (SVP) and stood as a local politician in the commune of Bulle.
Streich attempted to understand the Qur'an and Islamic teachings in order to argue against Muslims on tenets of their faith. In the course of his efforts the ex-Christian began to agree with and acknowledge the proclamations of the Qur'an.
"Islam offers me logical answers to important life questions, which, in the end, I never found in Christianity," says Streich. He is now a committed Muslim, who attends the mosque, recites the Qur'an and prays five times a day.
Streich has now focused his intentions on participating in the building of the new Conservative Democratic Party in the canton of Freiburg. Freich's new movement is in contrast to his previous one and he aims to promote religious tolerance and peaceful cooperative living, in spite of the fact that ban on mosques minarets has gained a legal status.
He is vehemently opposed to the Minaret ban and is hoping to establish Switzerland's fifth mosque and the most beautiful in Europe.
Meanwhile the SUV have raised concerns over Streich's position as Military Commander in the Army in the aftermath of his conversion citing him as a security risk. SVP-National Council member Alfred Heer cited the Fort Hood shooting spree as an example.
Source: Agencies
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