Islamic religious community in Austria

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Islamic Faith Community in Austria - IGGÖ
logo
legal form Public corporation ( recognized religious society )
purpose Representation and administration of the religious interests of Muslims living in Austria
Seat Vienna 7 , Bernardgasse 5 Coordinates: 48 ° 12 ′ 22.9 ″  N , 16 ° 20 ′ 38.1 ″  EWorld icon
founding 1979

president Ümit Vural
Website www.derislam.at

The Islamic Faith Community in Austria (IGGiÖ / IGGÖ), as a corporation under public law, is the official representative and responsible for the administration of the religious affairs of Muslims living in Austria.

In addition to the IGGÖ, there are other Islamic organizations in Austria , some of which are represented on its advisory board. With the Islamic Alevi Faith Community  (IAGÖ / ALEVI), another religious community was officially recognized in 2013.

organization

The IGGÖ has the Supreme Council as the executive body, the Schura Council as the legislative body and the community committees of the four religious communities Vienna, Linz, Bregenz and Graz as the executive body. All four community committees together form the Shurarat. The at least 16 members of the Shura Council elect the 12 members of the Supreme Council from among their number, from which in turn the President of the IGGÖ is elected. The individual member cannot directly elect the Shurat Council, the Supreme Council, the Mufti and the President of the IGGÖ. The constitution of 1985 (amended in 1988) was reformed in 1999/2000 in order to introduce an IGGÖ advisory board, which, after being appointed by the Shura Council, can include representatives of various Islamic clubs and associations in Austria and which only has an advisory function.

The IGGÖ's president from 2016 to 2018 was Ibrahim Olgun from the Turkish-Islamic Union for cultural and social cooperation in Austria . Ümit Vural was elected as his successor in December 2018.

Members and elections

According to Article 1 of the IGGÖ constitution, all followers of Islam who reside in the Republic of Austria belong to it (approx. 500,000). Eligible members are only those who, according to Articles 16 and 45, are older than 14 years, have been entered in the register of members (register sheets) kept by the community committee for at least six months and pay the annual membership fee of 43.60 euros. According to Article 20, elections of the municipal committees take place every six years, which subsequently elect the highest body - the Shura Council -, this in turn the Supreme Council, and the latter in turn elect the President of the IGGÖ.

The last election took place in 2011 and was overdue since April 2007. Membership registration has been ongoing since June 2010 as part of the preparation for elections. By the beginning of November 2010, more than 45,000 Muslims had registered as members, although the figures for Vienna are not included here.

According to the diploma thesis by Farid Hafez, who interviewed representatives of all four religious communities of the IGGÖ, a total of 5,500 people took part in the 2001 election (1,200 in Vorarlberg / Tyrol, 2,500 in Upper Austria / Salzburg, 1,000 in Styria / Carinthia and 1,000 in Vienna / Lower Austria / Burgenland 800).

history

The IGGÖ was constituted in 1979 as a recognized religious community in Austria on the basis of the Islam Law of 1912, which is based on the "Recognition Law" of 1874 and which is specified in the Islam Ordinance of 1988.

President of the IGGÖ has been Ibrahim Olgun from the Turkish-Islamic Union for Cultural and Social Cooperation in Austria (Atib) since 2016 ; his choice sparked controversy. Olgun replaced the Turkish-born Fuat Sanaç as president, who had held the office since 2011. In November 2018, at the request of the two vice-presidents, the Shura Council decided to hold new elections early on December 8, 2018. Ibrahim Olgun announced that he would no longer stand as a candidate. This was preceded by conflicts over the notification of the Arab religious community by Olgun to the cultural office, as it did not have the ten mosques required to be recognized as a religious community under the 2015 Islamic Law .

Reform of the IGGÖ constitution

President Schakfeh stated in October 2006 that a constitutional reform of the IGGÖ was planned, a draft was already in the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture and was awaiting approval from the Office of Culture (§ 2 Paragraph 2 Islam Ordinance). The following has been known about the constitutional reform through IGGÖ spokeswoman Carla-Amina Baghajati :

  • The number of religious communities is to be increased to eight
  • Voting in every mosque that is associated with the IGGÖ (so far only in one pub per religious community)
  • New right to vote: Each mosque should agree on an elector who represents them in the votes for the two most important institutions of the IGGÖ, u. a. draws up the budget and elects the Board of Governors and the President

The draft of the new constitution was presented in March 2008, but was rejected by the Federal Ministry to the Islamic Faith Community for improvement.

The term of office of President Anas Schakfeh has now expired, but he will remain in office until the new elections (probably 2011). In June 2009 a revised constitution was passed by the Shurarat. In November 2009 the new constitution of the Islamic Faith Community was approved by the Education Office in the Ministry of Education.

Presidents of the Faith Community

tasks

The IGGÖ's fields of activity include the establishment and administration of Islamic cemeteries , service in Muslim matters such as marriages according to the Islamic rite (excluding multiple marriages), issuing certificates (when naming, before starting military service, in the event of death, etc.) or supervision of slaughter as well as the organization of symposia and imam conferences, interreligious dialogue, visiting and social services in hospitals and prisons, teaching Islam in schools and training Islamic teachers.

Islamic school lessons

Islamic religious instruction in schools has existed since the 1982/83 school year. In 2007 around 350 teachers of Islam gave religious instruction to around 48,000 students. 55 percent of Muslim students canceled classes. Religious instruction is offered as a compulsory subject in compulsory and secondary schools. It is possible to graduate in the subject of Islamic Religion.

In January 2009, the Islamic religion teachers came under public criticism after the Islamic scholar Mouhanad Khorchide came to the conclusion in a study that some Islamic teachers reject democracy because it is incompatible with Islam.

Islamic Religious Education Academy

The private course for teaching Islamic religion at compulsory schools in Vienna (IRPA) offers a "Bachelor of Education" course for Islamic religion teachers in Austria. Students receive scientifically sound and practice-oriented teacher training at university level, as well as Islamic-theological knowledge, pedagogical and didactic expertise and information on school law. The director is the theologian and religious educator Amena Shakir. 220 students are currently being taught.

The state-recognized course was founded in 1998 as the Islamic Religious Education Academy (IRPA) and was developed into a private course in the tertiary sector as a result of the reorganization of the higher education system based on the Bologna Agreement. The language of instruction is German. Applicants for the course have to undergo an admissions process in which both their language skills and pedagogical talents are determined.

Outside of the regular course of study, public lectures are held every month, for example by the dean of the Catholic theological faculty, Martin Jäggle, as well as by the musician and artist André Stern, but also by the US ambassador William Eacho. Since the 2007/2008 winter semester, graduates have had the opportunity to complete a master's degree in "Islamic Religious Education" at the University of Vienna to become religious teachers for secondary schools.

According to a study by the international extremism researcher Lorenzo Vidino , which was carried out by the George Washington University in cooperation with the University of Vienna (Institute for Oriental Studies ), the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Austrian Integration Fund, "the IRPA - responsible for the training of Islamic religion teachers - undoubtedly under its influence due to various connections to the Muslim Brotherhood . "

Islamic Religious Education Institute

The Islamic Religious Education Institute (IRPI) in Austria is responsible for the advanced training of around 350 Islamic religion teachers who are obliged to attend at least 24 hours of training every year. In the spring of 2006, four out of five religion teachers at schools in Wels were obliged to learn German by the responsible state school inspectorate. Since the institutionalization of the training of Islamic teachers, such cases should not really occur anymore. Amir Zaidan has been director of the IRPI since it was founded in 2003 .

financing

The IGGÖ is financed by public funds for the administration of religious education in Austrian schools. The federal government pays the salaries of Islamic teachers, school subject inspectors and lecturers at the IRPA and IRPI. The financing of the Islamic Cemetery Vienna in the amount of around 1.4 million euros is almost exclusively provided by major donors, including the OPEC fund and the Qatar embassy . The IGGÖ does not make use of the option to raise taxes yourself. However, it charges an annual membership fee of 43.60 euros.

Mosques and prayer rooms are not financed by the IGGÖ, but through contributions and donations from the respective associations .

Positions

Islamic currents

It was criticized that the IGGÖ did not adequately fulfill its original legal mandate - the official representation of all Muslims living in Austria - because some Islamic movements such as Ahmadiyya , Alevis and Shiites did not feel represented or only insufficiently represented by the religious community. Since the end of 2010, the Alevis have had their own state-registered confessional community, which was legally recognized in 2013 as the Alevi religious community in Austria .

Islam and Democracy

In autumn 2008, a handbook of political Islam published a criticism of young secular Muslims against leading officials in the religious community, in particular Amir Zaidan, Adnan Ibrahim and El-Sayed El-Shahed, who were accused of being close to anti-democratic positions.

The IGGÖ was also criticized for supporting radical forces in Austria. Among other things, she supports a preacher who called for jihad in a mosque in Vienna-Leopoldstadt in August 2014. The IGGÖ had defended the preacher in 2006. A few weeks after this incident, the President of the IGGÖ described the influence on radical Muslims as "limited".

Israel and anti-Semitism

The former president of the IGGÖ, Anas Schakfeh , called Hamas' goal of wiping Israel off the map in 2009 a "utopia" and claimed that there was no anti-Semitism in the Middle East. The IGGÖ officially supported an anti-Israel demonstration in 2014.

Evolution theory

Ibrahim Olgun, the former president of the IGGÖ, is for the treatment of evolution in schools, but personally rejects the theory of evolution.

criticism

Relationship with Turkey

The close proximity of the IGGÖ to the Turkish government is regularly criticized. The professor for Islamic religious education Ednan Aslan even describes the IGGÖ as "Turkey's foreign policy organization".

The personal dominance of the ATIB association , which is considered to be "the Austrian arm of the Office for Religious Affairs of the Turkish government", has been criticized. This is also visible in the person of President Olgun, who is a member of the association, in which the AKP grew up and belongs to the "Generation Erdoğan ". Even after criticism from Turkey, Olgun has already changed official positions of the IGGÖ several times: he initially accepted the theory of evolution in an interview and rejected it after Turkish criticism, and he also revised his Gülen- friendly stance on a Turkish call. In the opinion of IGGÖ internal critics, however, this personal integration goes far beyond the person of the President and is continuously being expanded. IGGÖ Vice-President Abdi Tasdögen said on the occasion of filling posts for the university course for teaching in Islamic religion that "IGGiÖ should be a state institution of Austria and not a branch of the Embassy Council [Turkey]".

The new elections, which were surprisingly called in November 2018, were interpreted as a power struggle between the Atib umbrella organization, which is controversial due to its close proximity to Turkey, and the Turkish nationalist Millî Görüş movement.

Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood

In 2017, a study by the George Washington University in cooperation with the University of Vienna documented that the IGGÖ was under the influence of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood. The IGGÖ played a "central role" in spreading the positions of the Muslim Brotherhood milieu. Criticism of Islam would be rejected by the IGGÖ as "Islamophobia" in accordance with the strategy of the Muslim Brotherhood. Even before that, there was repeated suspicion that the youth organization of the IGGÖ, the Muslim Youth Austria (MJÖ), but also the former chairman of the IGGÖ Anas Schakfeh, were close to the Muslim Brotherhood.

The current president of the IGGÖ, Ümit Vural, is also close to the Muslim Brotherhood. His participation (together with his Vice Seyfi Recalar and the member of the IGGÖ's Supreme Council, Muhammed al-Khoutanian) in an event in Cologne with prominent Muslim Brotherhoods has been criticized, as has his lack of distancing from the Muslim Brotherhood.

Islamism in school lessons

The research platform Addendum has examined the Islamic classes organized by the IGGÖ at Austrian schools. Multiple evidence for the political-Islamic ideology was found.

The book "Islamstunde" (published by Amena Shakir, who is said to be close to the Muslim Brotherhood) is used in Islam classes and is published by Veritas on behalf of the IGGÖ. Since religion books, unlike all other school books, are not approved by the state, the IGGÖ alone determines the content, form and orientation of the teaching materials. A report commissioned by the publishing house Veritas from the religious educator Ednan Aslan gave the textbook a very negative assessment. Aslan criticizes the reduction of being a Muslim to "the headscarf and political-Muslim personalities" as well as the theologically untenable Arabization of the Islamic religion as obstacles to an Islam with European characteristics. The IGGÖ has so far largely ignored Aslan's very detailed and specific criticism.

The head of the Frankfurt research center “Global Islam” Susanne Schröter also criticizes the black pedagogy used in the textbook . One works with fear in order to "create subjects who are subservient to authority and who do not question anything critically, but simply pray for everything". Since Muslims are portrayed several times in the "Islam Lesson" as victims of a discriminatory society (without going into the prejudices of Muslims against the majority society), the role of victims makes it increasingly difficult for the pupils to identify with Austria. Many of the authors and personalities appearing in textbooks (e.g. Tariq Ramadan , grandson of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood; Ahmad von Denffer , self-declared opponent of the free and democratic basic order; Muhammad Asad , supporter of a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam) support this “ideology of anti-western resentment ”that prevails in the book.

The religious educator Mouhanad Khorchide primarily criticizes the IGGÖ's focus on the headscarf, which means that Islam is dominated by a very conservative reading that does not promote integration. Problematic statements are also partially backed up with uncertain sources from Islamic teaching and translated uncritically. Since the sources are presented with an absolute claim, the students have no leeway to question them. It is criticized that this kind of uncritical understanding of Islam conveyed in the books can be used by extremists. Finally, the compulsion to speak Arabic is also criticized in the book as a further indication of a theologically conservative attitude, especially since this would not be theologically necessary. Since most Muslims in Austria do not speak Arabic, it is also a problematic power argument of a small group that claims the authority to interpret the Koran.

Based on analyzes in social networks, it was also determined which Islam teachers attracted attention through expressions of sympathy for Turkish President Erdoğan or other leaders of political Islam, and possible connections to political Islamic organizations were examined. It turned out that every 13th Viennese Islam teacher sympathizes with the Muslim Brotherhood, Millî Görüş or the Turkish President Erdogan. Since the political-Islamic ideology in its main features is directed against the liberal-democratic constitutional state, this is criticized as very problematic.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c orf.at: Lawyer Vural is the new IGGÖ President . Article dated December 8, 2018, accessed December 9, 2018.
  2. ↑ Constitution of IGGÖ . derislam.at. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  3. ↑ Muslims recruit members by all means , diepresse.com
  4. ^ Farid Hafez: The Islamic Faith Community in Austria. An analysis of the organizational structure taking into account Muslim umbrella organizations, diploma thesis University of Vienna, 2006.
  5. ^ Islam law of 1912 ( German, English, French ) Islamic religious community in Austria. October 31, 2003. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
  6. ^ Law on the Legal Recognition of Religious Societies of 1874
  7. ↑ Islam ordinance of the BMUKS of August 2, 1988 ( Memento of September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ^ Die Presse : Arabs want to contest the election of the new IGGiÖ president ; accessed on March 23, 2017
  9. ↑ orf.at: IGGÖ: Olgun is no longer running . Article dated November 12, 2018, accessed November 12, 2018.
  10. ^ Diepresse.com: Islam: The end of the short Olgun era . Article dated November 11, 2018, accessed November 12, 2018.
  11. ↑ a b Peter Draxler, Solmaz Khorsand: Almost one for all ( memento of November 9, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), date 10/06
  12. ^ New constitution for Muslims in Austria . In: The press . November 23, 2006
  13. ↑ orf.at: New Constitution of the Islamic Faith Community (March 13, 2008)
  14. ↑ ots.at: Kultusamt criticizes new statutes
  15. ↑ derStandard.at: Islamic Faith Community approves new constitution , June 27, 2009.
  16. ↑ Erich Kocina: New constitution for Muslims . In: Die Presse , November 27, 2009. Retrieved May 22, 2013. 
  17. ↑ Overview from brochure on religious communities in Lower Austria ( Memento from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), 2004
  18. ↑ Martina Schmied: Islam in Austria (PDF; 117 kB) see explanatory remarks on the Islam law of July 15, 1912
  19. ↑ a b Muslims in Austria, Wiener Zeitung of May 16, 2006
  20. ^ New Islamic Pedagogical Concepts , Wiener Zeitung, October 19, 2007
  21. ↑ "Covering up problems does not help Muslims" Islamic scholar Mouhanad Khorchide criticizes conservative religious education - 55 percent withdraw. The press of November 15, 2007
  22. ↑ Federal Law Gazette II No. 234/2011 : Curriculum for Islamic Religious Education as announced by the Federal Minister for Education and Art from July 29, 1983
  23. ↑ derstandard.at: Vortex about study on Muslim religious teachers, January 27, 2009 (accessed on January 31, 2009)
  24. ↑ IRPA own representation ( Memento from December 22, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  25. ↑ Religion aktuell, Ö1
  26. ^ New campus for Islamic religion teachers, ORF Vienna
  27. ↑ Calendar of events, IRPA ( Memento of December 22, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  28. ↑ Remarks at the Islamic Teachers' Academy (IRPA), US Embassy ( Memento from February 15, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  29. ↑ Islamic Religious Education , University of Vienna
  30. ^ Lorenzo Vidino: The Muslim Brotherhood in Austria . Ed .: GW Program on Extremism. August 2017 ( Online [PDF]).
  31. ↑ International extremism researcher: Muslim Brotherhood also active and strongly networked in Austria . In: OTS.at . September 14, 2017 ( online [accessed April 26, 2018]).
  32. ↑ Service contract of the IGGiÖ Islamic teachers ( Memento from March 27, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  33. ↑ IGGiÖ website ( memento of September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  34. ↑ according to Omar Al-Rawi in "Liesing: Grave field only for Muslims" Der Standard from May 23, 2007
  35. ↑ Islamic cemetery only from 2008 wien.ORF.at, November 5, 2006
  36. ↑ Irene Brickner: "Small Revolution" for Muslims, made in Austria . In: Der Standard , December 21, 2010. Retrieved May 22, 2013. 
  37. ^ Fixed state recognition for Alevis . In: religion.ORF.at , May 23, 2013. 
  38. ↑ Larise, Dunja / Schmidinger, Thomas (ed.): Between God's State and Democracy. Handbook of Political Islam. Vienna 2008. ISBN 978-3-552-06083-8
  39. ↑ Hate preacher promotes “true jihad” in Vienna . 23rd November 2014. 
  40. ↑ IGGiÖ chairman: influence on radical circles limited . In: wien.ORF.at , September 1, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2014. 
  41. ↑ Nina Weißensteiner: Anas Schakfeh reprimands Israel for violence. In: The Standard . January 2, 2009.
  42. ↑ thousands at Demo for peace in Gaza . In: wien.ORF.at , November 23, 2014. Archived from the original on July 23, 2014.  In: ORF .
  43. ↑ Faith versus Evolution: The Cross with Darwin , in: ORF Religion on July 28, 2017. - Islamic Faith Community Against Evolution Theory in Die Presse on July 21, 2017.
  44. ↑ Little interest in Austro imams . May 15, 2018 ( online [accessed May 16, 2018]).
  45. ↑ Stefan Kaltenbrunner: Interview: The new IGGiÖ president and the influence of the Turkish association Atib . June 20, 2016 ( online [accessed May 16, 2018]).
  46. ↑ ATIB distances itself from the ban on Darwinism in Turkey . July 13, 2017 ( online [accessed May 16, 2018]).
  47. ↑ Bilal Baltaci: Muslim boss Olgun rejects the theory of evolution after protest . July 21, 2017 ( online [accessed May 16, 2018]).
  48. ↑ Thomas Trescher: "The IGGiÖ is not a branch of the Counselor of the Embassy" . August 30, 2016 ( online [accessed May 16, 2018]).
  49. ↑ Islam: The End of the Brief Olgun Era . In: The press . November 11, 2018 ( online [accessed November 15, 2018]).
  50. ^ Lorenzo Vidino: The Muslim Brotherhood in Austria . Ed .: GW Program on Extremism. August 2017, p. 23 ( online [PDF]).
  51. ^ Wiener Zeitung Online: According to a study, the Muslim Brothers are well networked in Austria. September 15, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2019 .
  52. ↑ Heiko Heinisch: In the orbit of the Muslim Brotherhood? In: Courier. March 4, 2015, accessed February 14, 2019 .
  53. ↑ Nina Scholz: The Muslim Youth and the Muslim Brotherhood. October 20, 2016, accessed February 14, 2019 .
  54. ^ Wiener Zeitung Online: Anas Schakfeh. October 17, 2007, accessed February 14, 2019 .
  55. ↑ The IGGÖ President and the Muslim Brotherhood. In: Addendum.org. February 4, 2019, accessed February 14, 2019 .
  56. ↑ How political is Islamic teaching in Austria? In: Addendum. Retrieved June 21, 2019 .
  57. ^ "Islam lesson": Propaganda booklet for political Islam? June 17, 2019, accessed June 21, 2019 .
  58. ↑ The Islamic teachers, the Muslim Brotherhood, Millî Görüş, Erdoğan are close. June 17, 2019, accessed June 21, 2019 .