Austria Crackdown – Government to Shut Down Mosques | Al Jazeera English

The Austrian government is shutting down seven mosques and expelling imams. It's part of measures by the chancellor Sebastian Kurz to target what he calls "political Islam" in the country. Al Jazeera’s Dominic Kane reports from neighbouring Germany.

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In Vienna, a Bid to Foster 'Islam of the Austrian Kind'

THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: European countries are watching closely Austria's governance of Islam, a faith under the spotlight after recent terror attacks in Paris and Copenhagen. Austria's ban on foreign funding of preachers has raised concerns.

VIENNA, AUSTRIA — A controversial legal reform on Islam in Austria could become a beacon of hope in Europe as it rushes to assimilate its growing Muslim population in an age of insecurity and Islamophobia.

Austrian lawmakers say their aim is to create a democratic, self-sufficient Islam free of radical influence from abroad, thus defusing populist fears about the faith and its minority of extremist followers. To that end, the reform fortifies the legal rights of Muslims, while also banning foreign funding for mosques in an attempt to create what Austria’s foreign minister Sebastian Kurz has dubbed “Islam of the Austrian kind.”

These are the same goals shared broadly across Europe, among Muslims and non-Muslims alike. But Austria’s fast-track approach – coming after Islamist extremist attacks in France and Denmark and amid continued fear of returning European jihadists – is also troubling. While it gives Muslims new protections, such as mandating a right to Islamic pastoral care in hospitals and the military, it places limits on the faith in a way that Muslim leaders says is counterproductive at best, and deeply discriminatory at worst.

At least two faith-based groups have vowed to challenge it in court. For its part, Austria’s far-right Freedom Party criticizes the law as not going far enough. And, in a recent Austrian newspaper poll, more than half of respondents said they feared the radicalization of Muslims here. » | Sara Miller Llana, Staff writer | Friday, March 20, 2015

Austria Defends New Law on Foreign Funding of Mosques

THE GUARDIAN: Foreign minister Sebastian Kurz has defended a new Austrian law which restricts foreign funding for Austrian mosques and Islamic communities

Austria’s foreign minister has rejected criticism of the country’s new law on Islam aimed at cutting off foreign influence and funding, arguing that the legislation should become a model for the rest of Europe.

In an interview with the Guardian, Sebastian Kurz, whose role in the Austrian government also includes the portfolio for social integration, took particular aim at the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, suggesting Erdogan’s opposition to the law was motivated by fear of losing political influence on Austrian Muslims.

“I‘m not surprised by the criticism from President Erdoğan. This was to be expected,” Kurz said. “In our opinion, imams should be role models for young Muslims and must show that it is possible to be a proud Austrian and a believing Muslim at the same time and so there will be no need for Turkish imams in the future.

“And this is maybe the point why Erdoğan is so critical about our Islam law. At the moment we have more than 60 imams from Turkey and in the future we will have our own Austrian imams,” Kurz said. “It will not be possible in the future to have imams employed by the Turkish government.” » | Julian Borger Diplomatic editor | Sunday, March 08, 2015

Austrian Islam Bill Stirs Feelings of Alienation

HAARETZ: Officials say the bill fosters the development of an 'Austrian-style Islam'; but critics say the legislation is discriminatory.

DPA - Amid Europe-wide debates on extremism and integration, Austria is changing its law governing Islam. However, the changes risk deepening the rift between Muslims and the majority population.

"Muslims feel they are misunderstood and under suspicion," the Austrian Islamic Community, an umbrella organization, has said about the planned Islam law and the restrictions it contains.

On Wednesday, the bill is expected to pass in the Austrian parliament with the majority of social democrats and conservatives. Despite the current frictions, the Islamic community was a main driver behind the project to update the rudimentary law that had governed relations between the state and Islam since 1912.

The bill contains several provisions that will make life easier for the nearly 600,000 Muslims among Austria's 8.6 million inhabitants, the second-largest religious group behind Catholics.

For example, Muslim clerics gain the right to visit hospital patients, soldiers and prisoners. In addition, schools and other public institutions will have to offer food in line with Muslim rules.

On the other hand, the bill stresses that national law stands above Muslim sharia law, a provision that is absent in Austrian laws governing other religions. » | Albert Otti and Alkimos Sartoros | Sunday, February 22, 2015

Austrians Say Islam Does Not Belong In Their Nation: Poll

BREITBART: A survey of social attitudes in Austria has revealed the vast majority of Austrians don’t believe Islam belongs in their country, with almost half going further and saying the religion should “definitely not” have a home there.

In the survey, 69 percent of those polled said they did not believe Islam belonged in Austria, a strong rise on previous polls taken before the Charlie Hebdo attacks made earlier in the year, reports TheLocal.at. Even more than that – around three quarters – thought if a citizen left Austria to fight for extremist groups such as the Islamic State, they should have their citizenship withdrawn completely.

Of the nearly seven in ten people who believed Islam didn’t belong in Austria, a sizeable minority went even further, with 42 percent of those polled saying there should “definitely” be no Islam in the country. A similar proportion of people felt Islam was a “threat” to Austria. Read on and comment » | Oliver Lane | Monday, February 09, 2015

Austria's Muslims Fear Changes to Historic Islam Law

BBC: A row has broken out in Austria over government plans to overhaul the country's century-old law on Islam.

The new draft, which is partly aimed at tackling Islamist radicalism, forbids any foreign funding. But Austria's official Islamic Community says it reflects a widespread mistrust of Muslims and fails to treat them equally.

Islam has been an official religion in Austria since 1912. The Islam law, the "Islamgesetz", was brought in by the Habsburg Emperor Franz Joseph, after Austria's annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Under the law, Muslims, like Catholics, Jews and Protestants, are guaranteed wide-ranging rights, including religious education in state schools. » | Bethany Bell | BBC News | Vienna | Tuesday, November 04, 2014

Austria Passes New Law on Islam Over Fears of Extremism

ARUTZ SHEVA: Austria calls for standardized German-language translations of the Koran, prohibits foreign funding of Muslim organizations.

Austria on Thursday called for standardized German-language translations of the Koran and moved to prohibit foreign funding of Muslim organizations on its soil in a draft law aimed in part at tackling Islamic extremism, Reuters reports.

The bill will overhaul a 1912 law governing the status of Austrian Muslims, prompting concern from a major local Islamic body, which saw it mirroring widespread mistrust of Muslims.

"The clear message should be that there is no contradiction between being a faithful Muslim and a proud Austrian," said Foreign Affairs and Integration Minister Sebastian Kurz, a member of the conservative People's Party, according to Reuters.

"If you don't have orderly legal regulation ... this can always bring dangers (of extremism). In this sense, if you like this is maybe a part of prevention," he told reporters.

He added that Sharia, or Islamic law, had "no place here". » | Arutz Sheva Staff | Friday, October 03, 2014

Austria: Civil Law vs. Sharia Law

GATESTONE INSTITUTE: Austria has emerged as a major base for radical Islam and as a central hub for European jihadists to fight in Syria.

The proposed revisions would, among other changes, regulate the training and hiring of Muslim clerics, prohibit the foreign funding of mosques, and establish an official German-language version of the Koran to prevent its "misinterpretation" by Islamic extremists.

Muslims would be prohibited from citing Islamic sharia law as legal justification for ignoring or disobeying Austrian civil laws.

Leaders of Austria's Muslim community counter that the contemplated new law amounts to "institutionalized Islamophobia."

Official statistics show that nearly 60% of the inhabitants of Vienna are immigrants or foreigners. The massive demographic and religious shift underway in Austria, traditionally a Roman Catholic country, appears irreversible.

The Austrian government has unveiled a sweeping overhaul of the country's century-old "Islam Law" that governs the legal status of Austria's Muslim community.

The proposed revisions—which are aimed at cracking down on Islamic extremism in Austria—would regulate the training and hiring of Muslim clerics, prohibit the foreign funding of mosques, and establish an official German-language version of the Koran, among other changes.

The government says the modifications would give Muslims legal parity with other religious groups in Austria. But the leaders of Austria's Muslim community counter that the contemplated new law amounts to "institutionalized Islamophobia."

The updated Islam Law (Islamgesetz) was presented as a draft bill to parliament on October 2 and overhauls the current law, which dates back to 1912. » | Soeren Kern | Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Austria Teenage Girl Jihadis 'Want to Come Home’ from Isil

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Two Austrian teenagers who moved to Syria to form relationships with Islamic State jihadists are pregnant and have told their families they want to return home

Samra Kesinovic, 17, and Sabina Selimovic, 15, had been dubbed poster girls for the jihadist groups after fleeing to Raqqa in central Syria. They have since married foreign fighters in the city and become pregnant.

But the city’s strict Islamic lifestyle has turned sour for the girls, who want to return to Europe.

They have contacted their loved ones and told them they are sick of living with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) jihadis.

But they also said they don’t feel they can flee from their unwanted new life because too many people now associate them with Isil.

Austrian officials have said the girls have discussed going back home but that the country’s current laws were blocking their return. » | Damien McElroy | Friday, October 10, 2014