“We want a future in which increasing numbers of imams have grown up in Austria speaking German, and can in that way serve as positive examples for young Muslims.” Are they unable to recruit for jihad in German? This measure is largely cosmetic, but at least it is something, rather than nothing at all, which is what most Western countries are doing.
“Austria passes law on Islam, banning foreign funding,” by Philippe Schwab, Agence France Presse, February 25, 2015 (thanks to Lookmann):
Vienna: Austria’s parliament adopted legislation Wednesday amending laws on Muslim organisations to ban foreign sources of financing and require imams to be able to speak German.
The new law aims to promote what conservative Integration Minister Sebastian Kurz calls an “Islam of European character” by muting the influence of foreign Muslim nations and organisations, and offering Austrian Muslims a mix of increased rights and obligations in practising their faith in the central European country.
Austria’s previous “law on Islam” dates from 1912, after the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina by the Austro-Hungarian empire.
The two-year-old bill passed by parliament Wednesday predates the recent jihadist violence in France and Denmark, but is designed to “clearly combat” the growing influence of radical Islam, Kurz said….
Passage of the law comes amid estimates indicating around 200 people from Austria — including women and minors — have gone to Syria and Iraq to join jihadist militias like Islamic Front.A poll published by the OGM institute Tuesday found 58 percent of Austrians feeling radicalisation of the nation’s Muslims was underway.
To combat the rising risk of radical indoctrination of foreign origin, the legislation bans Islamic cultural organisations and imams in Austria from receiving funding from abroad.
It also requires the nearly 450 Muslim organisations in the country to demonstrate a “positive approach towards society and the state” in order to continue receiving official licensing.
Imams will be obliged to be able to speak German under the law — a bid to make their comments more accessible and transparent, while also facilitating the fuller integration of Islam into wider Austrian society.
“We want a future in which increasing numbers of imams have grown up in Austria speaking German, and can in that way serve as positive examples for young Muslims,” Kurz explained ahead of the vote.
The legislation also accords Muslims the right to consult Islamic clerics on the staffs of hospitals, retirement homes, prisons and in the armed forces.
Muslims in Austria will also have the right to halal meals in those institutions as well as in public schools, and will be allowed to skip work on Islamic holidays.
The adopted text scaled back farther-reaching measures contained in an earlier version, including the imposition of an “official” Koran in German that had sparked considerable controversy.
Yet the legislation has still generated opposition.
Before its adoption Turkey’s leading Muslim cleric, Mehmet Gormez, decried the bill as “a 100-year regression,” arguing no complaints have ever been lodged about the fact that Turkey funds many imams in Austria.
The country’s main Islamic group, the Islamic Religious Authority of Austria, approved the bill despite other organisations denouncing its restrictions as “discrimination” that other religions aren’t saddled with….
Loretta Pienaar says
Every single step, even small, is important – steps in the right direction is what is important. Keep on keeping on! GO, Western world, GO!
M S case says
The U. S ought to require all imams in speak English along with every person that has entered our country form a foreign land. Furthermore every mosque should be monitored by law enforcement officials. I’m sure no Christian church would oppose that. Or would they?
Don McKellar says
Isn’t it remarkable that they realize that foreign funding is a serious contributing factor in the growing deadly Islamic jihad threat to Austria? It’s hard to even imagine such clear-headed thinking showing up in a government in Eurabia at this late date! I’m sure that the Saudis are contemplating calling in any Austrian diplomats in the Magic Kingdom of Evil and demanding this be reversed. The expansion of the black tentacles of Islam must not be impeded like this! How dare they?
Don McKellar says
And what about Erdoğan? Has the Austrian ambassador been summoned yet? He must be angry about this.
Oliver says
RE: Saudi Arabia–according to another source, (NOT JW) they are working with Israel to bomb Irans’ nuclear facilities.
The Saudis APPEAR ( MILD TERM) to differ from what Oliar has been saying.
(Go back a few years, to the second release of cables– the first was critical of Bush, so the WH and Dems ignored it. The second showed that Saudi Arabia, most of the Gulf States etc were WORRIED ABOUT IRAN, AND COULD NOT GIVE A — LESS ABOUT ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS This as the opposite of Oliars pronouncements.
Which is why the leaker left the country.
The Doctor says
“The country’s main Islamic group, the Islamic Religious Authority of Austria, approved the bill despite other organisations denouncing its restrictions as “discrimination” that other religions aren’t saddled with….”
Other religions _would_ be saddled with similar restrictions if these other religions were recruiting people to kill people simply because they do not follow the same religion as the recruiters.
Sheri says
It’s going to be interesting to see what follows this especially when their money runs out.
Danny Newton says
How does Austria assure that part of the Zakat or Charity Tax is not partially siphoned off into “the cause of Allah.?” It seems like the books and all transactions would have to be made public and subject to audit.
danny says
Atimes I wonder why europe allow their public safety be dictated by muslim-arabs who are bent on ‘conquering’ europe for false god allah.
Civilized world must not always give in to these barbarians and their superstitous religion…..HISLAM.
somehistory says
Laws are changing all over. This headline today, Justices appear to favor Muslim denied job over headscarfWednesday, Feb. 25, 2015. mark sherman – associated press
Never know from one hour to the next what people are going to do.
voegelinian says
“requiring imams to speak German”, eh? An Undercover Mosque operation in Germany might well uncover the following Friday sermon:
Deutsches Volk!
Nationalsozialisten!
…
So hat England einst in vielen Kriegen Spanien zugrunde gerichtet!
So führte es seine Kriege gegen Holland!
So bekämpfte es mit Hilfe von ganz Europa später Frankreich!
Und so begann es um die Jahrhundertwende die Einkreisung des damaligen Deutschen Reiches und im Jahr 1914 den Weltkrieg!
Nur durch seine innere Uneinigkeit ist Deutschland im Jahre 1918 unterlegen….
Nationalsozialisten!
Nationalsozialisten!
Das Deutsche Reich hat nie die Absicht gehabt…
Nationalsozialisten!
Ich habe hier jene Haltung angenommen, die ich als verantwortlicher Führer des Deutschen Reiches…
Deutsches Volk!
SIEG!
FÜHRER AKBAR!
SIEG!
FÜHRER AKBAR!
SIEG!
FÜHRER AKBAR!
SIEG!
DER KALIF AKBAR!
jay says
So all they have to do is divert their funding a little bit to cover up the source which most corrupt money works that way, but Islam has had a free pass to operate out in the open because no one gives a crap. This changes nothing. How do enforce them to speak German? Will a government official attend every mosque?
particolor says
Vee Haf Vays off Makink You Speak Doych !! 🙂
Angemon says
100 years is not far enough – it needs to go back as far as 1683 or 1529.
Oliver says
Turkey-or any organization there- to complain about anything about religion is the height of hutzzpa. Considering what they do to all other religions, especially under the current corrupt leaders.
R Cole says
The first step is admitting there is a problem – then to take steps to rectify it from there.
Austria is throwing Muslims a religious bone. A few years ago a few Muslims in the Austrian army refused to salute that country’s flag. Now Muslims are given the right to see an Islamic cleric while in the military.
Russia has already made moves to restrict – Islamic text allowed – particularly the more – militaristic Hadiths.
We are dealing with the Muslim mindset where people are conditioned to accept without question – albeit religiously intimidated – at the same time are taught adherence to Islam equals supremacy. So where Austria’s change of law will have some success – it will – but where it doesn’t not – they must have a plan to deal with the inevitable resistance also.
You can’t have a mega mosque – along with its Wahhabi teachings – without Arab gulf finance. And the Turkish imam/mosque funding would come with its own competing supremacist agenda – more Ottoman – none of which is wanted or needed – in Europe.
::
::
Oh, the Make Believe!!
It’s all getting a bit UFO’y – on CNN the reporter was asked – why he thought Islamic State was targeting Syrian Christians. With the best of investigative reporting – and a mountain of evidence – he concludes – he has no idea – why IS would be targeting Christians!!
The first part of the report – he interviewed a Syrian IS defector in Turkey – who objected to a 14 year-old ‘Muslim’ boy being beheaded – not because it was wrong – in his words ‘he could understand being harsh to non-Muslims – but strongly objects to IS persecution /murder of Muslims’ [of course right in line with the Koran and Muhammad’s teachings]
And that’s Islam today folks!!
Oliver says
CNN is the CREATIVE NEWS NETWORK.
Some years back, (before Islamic of the Islamic terrorists in Nigeria, when it was a plain old civil war, this CNN ” correspondent” reported fighting in one area. Nigerian government denied it. he had ” pictures”. Then he split with his lady friend (or, she with him- whatever).
She SHOWED CREDIT CARD RECEIPTS ( AND CHECKS FROM CNN TO COVER THEM) FOR UNIFORM/COSTUME RENTALS, AND PAY FOR PEOPLE TO ACT AS BOTH SOLDIERS AND REBELS–FOR HIS ” EXCLUSIVE”.
as far as I know, CNN never retracted. (probably 5 or 6 or so years back, maybe a little more).
TheBuffster says
Cutting out foreign financing of Islam in Austria – good.
Requiring Imams “to be able to speak German” won’t do any good unless they are disallowed from speaking any other language when they preach – if the whole idea is to be able to monitor sermons. But I can’t believe Muslims would accept that, especially if a large group of the congregation speaks German poorly or not at all. Of course, that could be a spur to some to either learn German or leave the country. Good. (But it’s not clear whether imams “being able to speak German” means also being required to use German exclusively whenever they preach. If the congregation has to learn German in order to understand the imam, they’d also be more vulnerable to Western culture. That could be good.)
However, isn’t Arabic the only official language of Allah? And how often have we been told that the Koran isn’t the Koran unless it’s read in Arabic? This is a pretty serious case of state interfering with mosque. It’s awfully sticky.
Still, I’m sure a radical imam could find underground ways to radicalise his portion of the Umma even if he has to put on a show in the pulpit. This isn’t going to stop a fully dedicated jihadist from doing what Allah requires. And the resentment among Muslims for the State interfering in their religion isn’t going to win the government any Muslim friends. It may only make them more receptive to an imam’s claims of Muslim victimhood.
It seems to me better to let the imams and mosques operate as they are, and infiltrate them with Arabic-speaking moles to catch them out. Then prosecute them for incitement.
“It also requires the nearly 450 Muslim organisations in the country to demonstrate a “positive approach towards society and the state” in order to continue receiving official licensing.”
Well, that *will* make it harder to operate, and might discourage some. But making a law and enforcing it by effective oversight is a whole other matter.
Islam. Other religions can be trusted to operate within the bounds of human rights and to not push holy war, government overthrow, violence. With every other religion we can safely say that the state shouldn’t interfere, needn’t and shouldn’t send in spies to monitor it. And then comes Islam to use that separation against us.
What an evil ideology it is. What a total menace.
Xero_G says
Are the Imams required to speak German EXCLUSIVELY? Are the sermons to be in German ONLY? What if it’s not a “sermon” per se, but a “discussion”?
So Muslim organizations must demonstrate a “positive approach towards society and the state” but who will determine the definition of what is “positive”? Muslims already insist that Sharia is the most positive society ever conceived.
Until these “loopholes” are closed, this in nothing more than an exercise in feel-good futility
TheBuffster says
Yep.
Half-measures aren’t going to do it.
The big mistake was opening the gates to so many people who believe in a religion that’s profoundly alien to the rights and liberty that we in the West allegedly hold dear. But Westerners have been undermining that liberty and spitting in our own faces, quite aside from Islam, for a long while. Which is why we weren’t more vigilant in protecting our countries from such a large influx of hostile immigrants. Which is why the politicians and bureaucrats didn’t bother to find out what ideology they were importing.
Liberty and the philosophy that supports it has already been compromised, hence our blindness and vulnerability.
What we need from all the leadership is an awareness of and the telling of the whole truth and nothing but.
Rob says
When the history of this dreadful era is written, it will be the Imams who are found to be the culprits.
But hopefully by then the West will have ‘demigrated’ its Muslim Diaspora.
With a collective sigh of relief we will say: ‘Why did we ever think that 700 years of backwardness could be changed by the gentle influence of secular liberal democracy?’
Katy says
I think this is a good start. When you move to another country you should respect their culture and try to integrate as well as you can. Cutting off funding from Islam is one step, and learning the language of the country you live in is necessary.
bassi says
In whatever fashion they had the balls to enact the new laws
Compare that to the a’holes like Cameron who have all the time to find excuses for the expanding community of “haters” who have nothing for Britain than it’s destruction———— and of course his crony BHO
The world will regret the sustained progression to slavery to the most horrific population that a religious belief built
andrew sapia says
a good first step that should be repeated in every western country. In Tennessee the Saudi funded mega mosque is for 20,000 people even though there are like 500 Muslim families in the congregation. This should not be permitted. Churches raise funds locally and get mortgages this foreign funding has to stop.
particolor says
How Benevolent is that ? 🙂 Bringing that many people with “Mental Illness” to your Country for Comfort !! 🙂
Falsafa says
A very unproductive law which doesn’t suprise me in the least that it’s coming from Austria….a country which was sanctioned only a few years ago by the EU for electing an openly racist, nazi party…but hey it’s the Austrians…the country where Hitler came from. It won’t be long before a case is brought before the ECHR for violations of freedom of religion and human rights of Muslims living in Austria, for which Austria will be heavily fined for human rights violations and will have to rescind the law, Restricting the freedom to worship for whom? extremists? no….but those migrants of Turkish and Bosnian descent living in that country for generations…seriously Austria…knock off the racism…I know its hard for you!
Kepha says
So, Muslims may not get foreign funding in Austria.
Does this mean, that should something of a Jewish community revive in Austria, but needs help from American Jews to refurbish some historic synagogue to fit if for use, it will also be taboo?
Or, a group of Austrians wish to join a Christian denomination that has no long historical roots in the country, and maybe get help from elsewhere to publish their literature while they are only a few families. Is this something that would make them lawbreakers?
Yes, I understand the special problems with Islam, especially at this time and place. But I see a growing trend in a lot of the West to use the threats posed specifically by Islam and Muslims as a way to strip freedoms from others. I’m for giving as much liberty to everyone–and then if its abused, squash the abuser like a bug.
Linde Barrera says
Austria has it right. Clergy should speak the language of the country to which they migrated. No foreign funds is also correct because whoever wants a church, synagogue, mosque or temple, let them draw up plans, get ok from building department, and dig deep for money from participants. That process is true separation of church and state. I hope more nations will take a tip from Austria.