Ludwig and IGGÖ reject blanket suspicion in extremism fight

Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig and Ümit Vural, chairman of the Islamic Religious Community in Austria, warned against treating an entire religious community with blanket suspicion while combating extremism, ORF reported. They made the statement after meeting at Vienna City Hall on Tuesday.

“People who practise their faith peacefully must not become targets of political snap decisions,” the two said in a joint statement. Muslims have been part of Vienna and Austrian society for generations, they added.

They also pointed to the Vienna Religious Council, which includes representatives of all religious communities and assumes responsibility for peace and social cohesion in the city.

At the same time, Ludwig and Vural stressed that extremism had no place in society. “We will continue to defend democracy, the rule of law, freedom and equality together and resolutely,” they said.

Vural recently criticised calls for a constitutional ban on “political Islam”, saying the term was often used ambiguously. If the proposal targeted extremism or anti-democratic movements, he said, the Islamic Religious Community in Austria would “of course stand unequivocally on the side of the rule of law”. Instruments to combat such movements already existed, he added.

The meeting followed controversy among Islamic religious communities over remarks by Claudia Bauer, a minister in the Chancellery. In an interview with the Austrian Press Agency, Bauer had not ruled out banning the Islamic Religious Community in Austria. She later said that no ban was being considered, but argued that the organisation represented different groups, some of which could be radical.