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AS AUSTRIANS GROW more openly hostile towards Muslims, major political parties are deliberately brandishing Islamophobia in the Catholic-majority country ahead of next month’s parliamentary election.
A torch-lit procession of ultra-nationalists gathered recently on the outskirts of Vienna to listen to fiery speeches on the anniversary of a 17th-century victory over Muslim Ottomans.
“Today we have to defend our homeland again,” thundered the leader of the Identitaren movement.
While the small extremist group is on the fringes of politics, nearly a third of Austrians told a recent survey they would not like to live next to Muslims – a higher figure than in Germany, France, Switzerland and Britain.
National newspapers warn of “spiralling refugee costs”, Muslim “rapists” and impending Islamist assaults, in response to a record influx of migrants and jihadist attacks across Europe.
Despite a largely successful integration model, traditionally centrist parties are tapping into these fears to win votes in the country of 8.75 million people.
Encroaching on far-right territory, the popular new leader of the conservative People’s Party (OeVP), Sebastian Kurz, wants to slash migrant benefits and shut all Islamic kindergartens, which he says create “parallel societies”.
His party was instrumental in prohibiting foreign funding of mosques and pushing through a ban on the Muslim full face veil, due to enter into force in October.
That paid off with the OeVP stealing top spot in opinion polls for the 15 October election. The far-right Freedom (FPOe) is now battling for second place with the Social Democrats (SPOe).
Not to be outshone, SPOe Chancellor Christian Kern kickstarted his campaign with a video of him chatting to disgruntled voters in a pub.
“I’m not a racist but… it’s unacceptable that people wear burqas and I am afraid in my own country,” an agitated woman says.
Kern nods his head, replying: “Everyone has to respect our rules.”
The FPOe meanwhile claims that “Islam has no place in Austria” and has vowed to replace the integration ministry with a department for the “protection of the homeland and dominant culture”.
‘Insidious’ political Islam
“When parties address the issue of Islam, it’s always in a negative context,” said Vienna City councillor Omar al-Rawi who previously worked as integration representative for Austria’s Islamic Community, a key Muslim group.
“The populist undertone is always present. It’s a shame because Austria used to be a success model for how to deal with Muslims,” the 56-year-old from Baghdad told AFP.
Austria was the first European country to recognise Islam as an official religion in 1912 following its annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Today Islam is the fastest-growing religion, with around 700,000 Muslims in the country – twice as many as in 2001.
Turks make up almost half of them, followed by Bosnians, Chechens, Syrians and Afghans.
There are now more Muslim than Catholic children in Vienna’s state primary schools.
In some classes, less than half speak German – an issue the OeVP wants to rectify with mandatory language lessons for pre-schoolers.
Separately, radicalisation among young Muslims is also a concern, with some 300 Austrians having joined Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq.
“Most Muslims here are good people but the danger of insidious political Islam is real,” said Austrian-Iraqi journalist Amer Albayati who heads the Liberal Muslims Initiative of Austria.
The terrorism expert in his mid-70s lives under police protection after receiving death threats from Islamists.
“The government is not acting on the problem,” he told AFP.
No ‘one-size’ solution
At Vienna’s Brunnenmarkt, a huge multicultural market, the rhetoric cuts no ice.
“I understand that people are more afraid of Muslims now” because of the attacks in neighbouring Germany and elsewhere, said Julian Mihailov, a Bulgarian Turk who moved to Austria in 1959.
“But normal Islam has nothing to do with extremists,” the vegetable vendor (47) told AFP.
Although the security concerns are real, analyst Peter Filzmaier warned against a “lumping-together” of Muslims in the election.
“There are extremely big differences depending on the country of origin,” he told AFP.
First-generation Turks are more isolated than their Austrian-born children, while Somalis tend to be more hardline than Bosnians or Iranians, Filzmaier said.
“There are no one-size-fits-all solutions,” he added.
For Rawi, Austria has never faced a more uncertain election.
“I think a majority of Muslims are worried about what direction the country is moving into,” he said.
“Many are in a socially vulnerable category… and they wonder if their children will still have the same opportunities.”
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nice one
Vincent Browne is a ledgend and is the only real journalist out there that reports the issues that the public want to hear and not a load of bs that the government and the papers feed to its people every day.
I’m sick to death of hearing more of the same regurgitated about the bank debt…repeating it won’t change anything. Energies are better focused on what we can do to turn things around
Becaue the bank debt matters. You are paying for it with YOUR money. I’m not sure if your post is meant to be sarcastic but on the current trajectory, we are heading for a second bailout with savage austerity. If you’re ok with that, good luck!
I hear ya Brenda. (Most) Irish peoples attitudes are a big reason I want to do a few years abroad working, not the economic crisis!
A good news story, a murder suspect tracked down. Good work by Gardai & Interpol. a long wait for family of victim. Plenty of coverage of our banks etc … A dangerous man behind bars has to be a good result.
The Police have done their job but my original point is that people on here are starting the vigilante thing. Brave computer warriors. Aren’t people more concerned about issues close to home like our banking debts that we are saddled with?
Tim – your Facebook details alone scream anti anything other than Sinn Fein. Please reserve these ludicrous comments for relevant articles regarding government, economy, Europe (not the football) etc. otherwise stop peddling this anarchism on completely unrelated articles.nnThanks,nEvery other reader
Not every story is going to be about bank debt.
Can we move onto more relevant stories closer to home please. Namely, the Bank debt.
lol.. did you just get the internet yesterday? Bank debt.. shur that’s hardly relevant these days.
Anyways.. fair play to Interpol and our Gardai. At least something positive still exists in this debt ridden hole of ours!
mart,
You’re not as clever as you want others to believe. Few vigilantes go on a witchhunt except those with little or no news to report as a journalist. At least Vincent Browne is one respected journalist to admire – he covers issues of interest to the Irish people.
You need to lighten up, Tim. Not everything revolves around our national debt… good things can still happen when you fell like you’re in the doldrums.
Hi Tim,
Plenty of economic stories on the site today. Here’s just one:
Thanks,
Sinead
Jesus Tim, if you want to read about debt and economic woe by all means look at the titles before you click in. This is a good news story – yes, they still happen – don’t dampen it with your negativity. Good news TheJournal et al. I remember seeing the story a few weeks ago. nnNext theyve got to find DJ MorgIOS…couldn’t resist….
In the end there shall be only 1
My god Tim I’m losing the will to live reading your comments. How negative, boring and repetitive can one person be? Maybe you’re just trolling like lots of other people on this site?
What Bank debt, it’s now the Irish Taxpayers’ debt. The un-named bondholders are laughing all the way to their Euro banks with our money given to them by that idiot Cowen in late night deals and now supported by this spineless government.
If they put him in a cell with Sean Quinn, who would walk out alive?
If they put me in a cell with him instead of Sean Quinn, he’d probably walk out alive because I would probably have died from boredom.
Hyperbole media is replacing tabloid media. Personally, I no longer read newspapers that report on court cases because it’s merely an attempt to cover-up for their lack of journalism. Negative news reporting with titles like “man arrested for xyz” or “man jailed for xyz” is boorish.
“Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations.”
― George Orwell
Yeah yeah yeah, whine, whine, whine, what a ball of fun your friends must find you. Life goes on with or without bank debt. I am not here forever and intend enjoying the time I am here so not planning on spending it whining.
Because the bank debt matters everything else doesn’t…. Yeah, sure, nice one… Go away, your boorish
Tim ( bank debt ) Jackson. Has a nice ring to it. As many here have pointed out there are a couple of stories here day to day on the dealings of the banks and they like of scoundrels like Quinn. This is the journal.ie not bankdebt.ie. it was interesting to see some post about your Facebook saying your were pro SF. Is it any wonder you are not find of Interpol. Half the shiners are on the run with a boot full of stolen ink
Edit .Fond of interpol. Thanks you and goodnight.
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