Architectural preference may not seem a reason for jihad, but then, Libya’s leader, Muammar Al Gaddafi, has earned a reputation in the West for his peculiar rationales. On Feb. 25, Gaddafi called for all Muslims to engage Switzerland in jihad, according to The Guardian, referring to the small European nation as “an infidel state bent on destroying mosques.”

“Any Muslim in any part of the world who works with Switzerland is an apostate, is against (the Prophet) Mohammad, God and the Koran,” Gaddafi said to a crowd of diplomats and officials gathered in Benghazi, reported Reuters.

His declaration for armed struggle responds to Switzerland’s countrywide ban on the construction of minarets, a form of architecture specific to Muslim mosques.

Last November, 57.7 percent of Swiss voters approved a constitutional ban on the building of minarets in a referendum backed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party.

Jihad has several different connotations according to Parveen Hasanali, professor of religious studies.

“Jihad means conflict and struggle,” Hasanali said. “The lesser jihad is that of armed conflict, while the greater jihad is that which takes place inside yourself.”

In the case of Gaddafi’s recent use of the term, he maintains that an embargo is in order.

“The masses of Muslims must go to all airports in the Islamic world and prevent any Swiss plane landing, to all harbors and prevent any Swiss ships docking, inspect all shops and markets to stop any Swiss goods being sold,” Gaddafi said according to the Guardian.

This comes as the most recent twist to an 18-month feud between the two countries.

Tensions between Switzerland and Libya began when Gaddafi’s youngest son, Hannibal, and his wife, Aline Skaf, were arrested in a Geneva hotel on charges of abusing two servants in 2008.

Although the charges were dropped and the pair released, according to the BBC, Libya reacted by cutting oil supplies to Switzerland, withdrawing billions of dollars from Swiss bank accounts and refusing visas to Swiss citizens. In response, then-Swiss president Hans-Rudolf Merz flew to Tripoli for an apologetic visit.

In August 2009, two Swiss businessmen working in Libya were arrested and detained for five months for overstaying their visas and engaging in illegal activity. One of the businessmen was returned to Switzerland in February and the other has just begun a four-month sentence in a Libyan prison.

Libya, according to the Guardian, denies any connection between the Geneva arrest and the arrest of the two Swiss businessmen.

The situation became further complicated Time Magazine reported, when again in August 2009, Gaddafi submitted a formal proposal to the United Nations recommending Switzerland be abolished, divided along linguistic lines and incorporated into France, Germany and Italy. The proposal was defeated.

On Feb. 14,, Switzerland blacklisted and denied entry permits to 188 high-ranking Libyans including Gaddafi and his family. Libya reacted immediately by freezing all visas belonging to citizens of 25 different European countries, including Switzerland.

Gaddafi’s assumed successor and his second-eldest son, Saif Al- Islam Gaddafi, told Time magazine that the feud between Libya and Switzerland indicates more than just international pettiness.

“It shows there is a big gap between our way of thinking and our mentality, and the Western mentality and the way of doing business,” continuing, “I think we are not ready to deal in the right way with the Western world, because they have different rules of the game.”

In the past, Libya has dealt with severe economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other western powers. According to Reuters, President Gadaffi publicly denounced Al-Qaeda and their acts of terrorism as a “kind of crime and a psychological disease.” Prior to those sanctions, however, Gaddafi was one of the leaders in anti-western rhetoric.

Robert Duncan, visiting assistant professor of political science, suggested that the economic situation influenced Gaddafi’s change of heart towards the West.

“The economic sanctions put Libya in the doghouse for 10 to 12 years,” Duncan said.

Gaddafi’s actions could be seen as an attempt to regain his stature among Arab states, Duncan suggested further, and among supporters of a more radical form of Islam. Gaddafi’s next move, however, remains to be seen.