One Wedding and No Funerals

We were at a family wedding this weekend. It was in Switzerland near Montreux and the weather was fantastic. After a week of rain, the sun came out and shone all weekend.
The bride and groom had been married ten days earlier at the mayor's office, as is required in civil law countries. But, the church wedding was for family and friends to celebrate with them. The church, decorated with white flowers and streamers, is 800 years old, at least some of it, and part of the old rampart wall still stands behind the church, which also served as a watch tower against attackers and as protection from enemies and night-prowling animals. The stained glass windows had been redone in a modern style in the 1980s. The minister was protestant.  The music was taped rock songs to the accompaniment of a live saxophonist (not Bill). Four generations of guests mingled during 18 hours, with no political or religious fights, no inter-generational tormenting, and only laughs and good words for each other. Weddings can do that to people.
That pretty much sums up Switzerland today. It is a country steeped in tradition and growing side-by-side with a modern world that recognizes churches as places for marriages, funerals, and museum tours the rest of the time. But, the Swiss are trying to hold on to their way of life and often get out of step with the rest of the world in doing so. Remember the "no minaret" referendum that passed nicely about a year ago?? But, at the same time, the Swiss are anxious to keep up with modern times - don't forget that it was the Swiss Canton of Vaud that welcomed Charlie Chaplin when nobody else wanted him.
That made me think of Charlie Rose again. One evening last week he had as his guest a Muslim professor who had been tossed out of both French and Swiss universities for seeming to support lapidation of women and other difficult-to-justify Sharia practices. His refusal to repent and his alleged support of terrorist cells got him booted out of mainland Europe. But, there he was on Charlie Rose's program, flouting interfaith relations and sounding harmless.
Do we do justice to Muslims when we support such pandering? I doubt it. There are vastly more Muslims in Europe than in the USA, and they are law-abiding, peaceful citizens who do their best to fit in, not an easy task when they are so often the focus for politicians and religious leaders who use them for their own ends.
Maybe we should invite some of our Muslim neighbors to a wedding once in awhile. And they could do the same. It might bring the whole picture back into better focus.