The European Court of Human Rights has on 11 May 2010 communicated two "minaret cases" to the government of Switzerland. Four Muslim organizations - Ligue des musulmans de Suisse, L'association culturelle des musulmans de Neuchâtel, Association Genevoise des Musulmans, and the Communauté musulmane de Genève - have made complaint to the Court that the ban on the construction of minarets in Switzerland contravenes the religious freedom and anti-discrimination guarantees of Article 9 and Article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights. In a separate action, Hafid Ouardiri, an Algerian-born French citizen living in Switzerland, a Muslim and former spokesman at the Geneva mosque, similarly cites Article 9 and Article 14 violations, and also invokes Article 13, complaining of a lack of effective remedy that would enable him to obtain a ruling that the constitutional amendment at issue is contrary to the Convention.
In November 2009 Switzerland, home to some 300,000 Muslims, most originating from Albania, Macedonia, and Kosovo, became the first European country to forbid the construction of minarets. A people's initiative arising from plans for minaret construction in German-speaking areas of the country called for the ban and was supported by 57.5% of voters, some citing resistance to the "Islamization of Switzerland" or "Islamic power expansion." Even though the government of Switzerland itself opposed the ban, it is now anchored in the Swiss constitution, and a change of would have to be accepted by a vote "that would very probably lead to a politically crucial nationwide test."
As reported by SwissInfo.CH on 2 December 2009, the president of the European Court of Human Rights, Jean-Paul Costa, described the minaret ban as a "complex case" unlikely to end up before the Court. Now that it has, some supporters, expecting the Court to find that the ban violates the Convention, are prepared to advocate that Switzerland repudiate that convention and withdraw from the Council of Europe.