VIENNA: Austria called on for standardised German-language translations of the Holy Quran and moved to prohibit foreign funding of Muslim organisations on its soil in a draft law aimed in part at tackling Islamic extremism. The bill will overhaul a 1912 law governing the status of Austrian Muslims, prompting concern from a local Islamic body, which saw it mirroring widespread mistrust of Muslims.
The initiative comes at a time of robust support for the far-right in Austria and also alarm over reports of Muslims from the small, neutral country joining militant forces fighting in the Middle East. “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.
“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 Shariah, or Islamic law, had “no place here”.
Roughly half a million Muslims live in Austria, representing about six percent of the total population, which is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic. The Christian and Muslim communities have co-existed for years and relations have been relatively unproblematic by comparison with friction seen in other European nations.
Unlike France, Austria has not moved to ban Muslim women from wearing full-face veils in public. However, tensions have grown with the rise of the anti-immigration and Islam-critical Freedom Party, which is backed by roughly a quarter of Austrians according to opinion polls. Under the terms of the draft bill, state-recognised religious organisations will have to offer a unified German-language version of their doctrine and sources of faith, including for the Muslim holy book, the Quran.
The legislation would also forbid Islamic teachers employed by any foreign states from working in Austria and stop outside funding for any Islamic organisations.
“Among the Muslim base, the law is not seen as a gift for the Eid holiday,” said Carla Amina Baghajati, spokeswoman of the Islamic Community of Faith in Austria (IGGIO), referring to EidAl Adha which Muslims will celebrate in the coming days.
“The bill mirrors in its overtone the spirit of the times we currently perceive, which is marked by blanket suspicion and mistrust against Muslims,” she said, adding that she was optimistic the legislation might still be amended.
“If a version of the Quran in German comes along as the codified, ultimate version, then this would contradict the self-conception of Islam,” Baghajati said.
Reuters
