Austria’s coalition government on Thursday announced it is considering several measures to curb the influence of what Conservative People’s Party (OVP) leader — and once and future chancellor — Sebastian Kurz described as “political Islam.”
The measures include a ban on Islamic headscarves for girls until they reach the age of 14 and a provision for putting potentially dangerous individuals in “protective custody” to prevent them from committing violent actions.
Kurz said during his first term as chancellor that “radicalization and political Islam have no place in our country.” He invoked the 2015 “Islam Act” to close mosques that were accused of supporting extremism and engaging in subversive political activity. Among other features of the Islam Act was a ban on foreign funding of religious activities in Austria.
Headscarves were banned in May 2019 for girls younger than 10, a rule denounced as “shameless” and a “direct assault on religious freedom” by Austrian Muslims, and an act of “rightwing extremism” by Kurz’s political opponents. Kurz plans to raise the age to 14 during his return to office. [Breitbart London] Read more
