Refugee crisisMuslim family's Swiss citizenship process halted after sons refused to shake hands with female teachers

The Swiss immigration authorities have halted the citizenship process of a Muslim family after the family’s two teenage sons refused to shake hands with their female teachers.

The refusal triggered an intense national debate over religious freedom in Switzerland.

The two brothers, 14 and 15, had informed the school principal and the education department in the northern town of Therwil that any physical contact with women who are not family members would be a violation of the strictures of Islam.

In Switzerland, however, it is customary for pupils to shake teachers’ hands at the beginning of class. The two brothers were initially given exemption, with Therwil educational officials instructing them to avoid shaking the hands of male teachers, too, in order to avoid the appearance of gender discrimination.

The BBC reports that Swiss politicians reacted angrily to the exemption, with Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga insisting that “shaking hands is part of [Swiss] culture.”

On Tuesday, authorities in the canton of Basel-Country, where Therwil is located, said that the naturalization process for the family had been suspended.

The Swiss news agency ATS reported that suspensions are not uncommon in citizenship procedures, typically as a result of the authorities requiring supplemental information or documents.

Basel-Country, where Therwil is located, said it had asked a legal opinion on the issue.

The boys’ father, a Syrian national, came to Switzerland in 2001 and was granted political asylum. He now serves as imam in Basel.

Here are about 350,000 Muslims in Switzerland, a country with a population of eight million.

Last year a similar issue captured the headlines, when a Muslim family demanded that their daughters be exempted from swimming lessons.