evidence: A leading Swiss Islamic group said it was "a dark day" for Muslims. [...] It is not the first time Islam has figured in a Swiss referendum. In 2009 citizens went against government advice and voted to ban the building of minarets, external - a proposal also put forward by the SVP which said minarets were a sign of Islamisation. [...] Ahead of the vote, Walter Wobmann, chairman of the referendum committee and an SVP lawmaker, described Muslim face coverings as "a symbol for this extreme, political Islam which has become increasingly prominent in Europe and which has no place in Switzerland".