Scientology as a Martyr
From: "Neue Zürcher Zeitung"
August 21, 1998Letter to the Editor
The Basel proposed legislation (which would prohibit using importunate methods of advertisement which annoy passers-by - ed. note) would turn members of religious minorities into martyrs, because who else would risk going to jail for addressing a passer-by? The hardliners, who prefer repression to dialogue, risk bringing a wave of sympathy to bear for the minorities they have targeted. I think it is objectionable that the state try to regulate who its citizens may be addressed by when it comes to freedom of thought and religion. There will always be contemporaries who feel "annoyed" when somebody tries to "sell" them a differing opinion. When the police are supposed to "bring order" in this regard, then something about basic democratic law has come unhinged.
Fritz Bruegger (Muri AG)