The Swiss research institute gfs.bern has signed a contract with a local lobbying organisation connected with the Turkish government to conduct a survey of discrimination experienced by Muslims in Switzerland. On Monday gfs.bern confirmed a report by the daily newspaper Tages-Anzeiger, saying in a statement that the study is in the design phase and that once that phase is over, a decision will be made as to whether the study can be carried out on the basis of current scientific and methodological criteria. The potential study comes at a time when Turkey is in upheaval following a military coup attempt on July 15. In Switzerland as well as in Turkey, supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have threatened followers of Fethullah Gülen, who Erdogan claims is responsible for the coup. The man who signed the contract with gfs.bern – Murat Sahin, President of the Swiss branch of the Union of European-Turkish Democrats (UETD) – gained attention for a public ...
