Austria Passes Law Prohibiting Foreign Financing of Mosques. (Imams must preach in German not in their own languages...)

The Austrian parliament passed a bill Wednesday amending legislation on Islam originally passed in 1912 and introducing a ban on the foreign financing of mosques, Wiener Zeitung reported.


The new regulation prohibits funding religious institutions from abroad to prevent external influence and guarantees more legal security for Austrian Muslims. The move comes amid increased radicalization of Europeans, who are travelling to Iraq and Syria to join extremist groups.

Muslims, which make up about 6 percent of Austria’s total population, are granted specific rights and duties under the new legislation. The law also covers religious holidays and training programs for imams.

Austria’s Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs told the BBC that the move was intended to provide for the better development of Islam within the country.

"What we want is to reduce the political influence and control from abroad and we want to give Islam the chance to develop freely within our society and in line with our common European values," Sebastian Kurz said.

However, the bill has encountered heavy criticism from the Muslim community in Austria as well as worldwide. Turkey’s head of the Directorate for Religious Affairs Mehmet Gormez told ORF-Radio on Tuesday that the legislation would push Austria “100 years back” in terms of religious freedom. Gormez declared opposition to the ban of foreign funding and stressed that the legislation threatened the unity of Muslims.

According to the Austrian media, about 60 out of 300 country’s imams are sent from Turkey through the Austrian Turkish Islamic Union (ATIB), country’s largest Muslim umbrella organization.
 [sputniknews.com]
25/2/15
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Related:

• Austria passes 'Law on Islam' banning foreign money for Muslim groups...

• Austria passes controversial 'Islam bill' into law...

 The Austrian parliament voted by majority to approve a controversial bill on Wednesday, which aims to revise a historic law on the status of Muslims in Austria.

Islam has been an official religion in Austria since 1912. The Islam law, known as Islam Gesetz, was introduced by Austria's last emperor, Franz Josef, after the Austro-Hungarian Empire annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The bill, prepared by Austria's coalition of Social Democratic Party and People's Party, passed into law at Wednesday's general assembly meeting that witnessed heated debates between the deputies from government and the opposition.

The first to take the floor against the bill, Heinz-Christian Strache -- an MP from the far-right and anti-immigrant Freedom Party -- said the parliament needs to pass a stricter law against "radical Islamists."

• Strache argued that imams must preach in German not in their own languages.

"Islam is not a part of Austria. The bill should also include ban on minarets and the burqa, because these are political symbols. The bill is way off the mark," he said........................... http://www.aa.com.tr/en/headline/470834--austria-passes-controversial-islam-bill-into-law
25/2/15
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