08 June 2018

Austria to shut seven 'political' mosques and expel imams

Austria has said it will close down seven mosques and expel imams who it says are funded by foreign countries.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said the move was a crackdown on political Islam.

Some mosques are suspected of having links to Turkish nationalists. In April images emerged showing children in Turkish army uniforms re-enacting the World War One Battle of Gallipoli.

The Turkish president's office called Austria's move "Islamophobic, racist and discriminatory".

.... The Austrian government says 60 of the 260 imams in the country are being investigated, of whom 40 belong to ATIB, an Islamic organisation in Austria close to the Turkish government.

"Parallel societies, political Islam and radicalisation tendencies have no place in our country," said Chancellor Kurz on Friday. [BBC] Read more