Austrian Mosque Closures Are Anti-Islam And Racist – Turkey

A decision by the Austrian government to close seven mosques and expel as many as 60 Imams has been branded by  Turkish government spokesman as a populist attempt to standardize racism and Islamophobia.

Turkey’s presidential spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin on Monday described as ‘anti-Islam’ and ‘racist’ Austria’s decision to expel up to 60 Turkish-funded imams and shut seven mosques down.

“Austria’s decision to close down seven mosques and deport imams with a lame excuse is a reflection of the anti-Islam, racist and discriminatory populist wave in this country,” Kalin said after Vienna announced the move in a crackdown on what it called ‘political Islam’.

“It is an attempt to target Muslim communities for the sake of scoring cheap political points. The Austrian government’s ideological attitude does not fit with universal law norms, social harmony politics, minority laws and the ethics of society. We certainly oppose normalizing and standardizing Islamophobia and racism,” he added.

Kalin’s remarks came after Austrian Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz announced the expulsion of the imams and shuttering of the mosques.

Kurz said the moves came after an investigation by the religious affairs authority into images which emerged in April of children in Turkish-backed mosques playing dead and re-enacting the World War I battle of Gallipoli.

The mosque in question was run by the Turkish-Islamic Cultural Associations (ATIB) organization, based in the German city of Cologne, and a branch of Turkey’s religious affairs agency, Diyanet.