Saturday, June 09, 2018

Austria Closes 7 Mosques, Targets Up To 60 Foreign-Funded Imams

CNN  and the New York Times report that yesterday Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz for the first time invoked the country's 2015 Islam Law (full text) (summary) to close seven mosques and expel up to 60 imams. The law aims at barring radical Islam and prohibits foreign funding of Islamic communities.  The Arab Cultural and Religious Community, and six mosques it operates, were ordered closed on suspicion of promoting radical Islam.  A seventh mosque operated by a far right-wing group known as the Gray Wolves was also ordered closed.  The influx of refugees from Syria since 2015 has increased the Muslim population, and Turkish-trained imams, who continue to receive funding from Turkey, now work in Austria. They are the imams being targeted.