Austria gets tough on ‘political Islam’

SET TO EXPEL 60 IMAMS, CLOSE MOSQUES

Austria said yesterday it could expel up to 60 Turkish-funded imams and their families and shut down seven mosques as part of a crackdown on “political Islam”, triggering fury in Ankara.

“The pool we’re talking about comprises around 60 imams,” said Interior Minister Herbert Kickl of the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), the junior partner in Austria’s coalition government. In total, 150 people risked losing their right to residence, he said.

Turkey’s presidential spokesperson lambasted Austria’s decision as an “anti-Islam” and “racist” move. “It is an attempt to target Muslim communities for the sake of scoring cheap political points,” Irahim Kalin said on Twitter.

The process of expelling imams connected to the Turkish-Islamic Cultural Associations (ATIB) organisation was under way, Kickl said.

He added that the government suspects them of contravening a ban on foreign funding of religious office holders. ATIB is a branch of Turkey’s religious affairs agency, Diyanet.

Seven mosques will also be shut after the religious affairs authority investigated images that emerged in April of children in a Turkish-backed mosque reenacting the World War I battle of Gallipoli. The photos showed boys in camouflage uniforms marching, saluting and playing dead. – AFP