Islam and Muslim Minorities in Austria: Historical Context and Current Challenges of Integration

Abstract

European nations face a paradox. On the one hand, anti-terrorism and security concerns push them to compromise the religious liberties of Muslims and to restrict the practice of Islam in public space. On the other hand, these countries seek to regulate, institutionalise and give representation to (i.e. 'Europeanise') Islam, and to facilitate the socioeconomic integration of Muslim minorities. At the same time, the public visibility of Islam has rekindled discussions concerning the nature and content of European secularism, unintentionally giving rise to secular populist movements and Islamophobia. Using Austria as a case study, this paper frames this paradoxical development within its oft-neglected historical legal context. Particularly, it reviews how the country's history and its legacy have shaped the inclusionary model of religious governance in Austria and Muslim associative life. It then examines how the integration of Muslims in Austria has been challenged by the exclusionary model of citizenship, Islamophobia, xenophobia and discrimination. Finally, it describes the securitisation and recent policy changes towards Islam and Muslims and how these deviate from the historical legal context, compromising the religious liberties of Muslims and restricting Islam from public space.

Islamophobia and the Challenges of Muslims in Contemporary Eropean Union Countries: Case Studies from Austria, Belgium, and Germany

“…Several researchers see that the media in the country does not view Islam objectively. 54 Many IGGiÖ activities do not receive enough appreciation from the media and they even search for the weaknesses of Islamic organizations, such as the possibility of fundamentalist or extremist elements within them. Indeed, Austrian Muslims do realize that elements of extremism do exist within Muslim societies in the country, as narrated by Baghajati:…”

Racialization in nursing: Rediscovering Antonio Gramsci’s concepts of hegemony and subalternity

“…Within health and nursing education, racialization maintains or replicates unequal relationships between the privileged and the marginalized (Beavis et al, 2015). Racialization has and continues to affect the health outcomes of immigrant and refugee groups in Europe (Biro, 2018; Bruneau et al, 2017; Hamed et al, 2020; Kourachanis, 2018; Nielsen et al, 2018; Sezgin, 2018; Zalewska‐Puchala et al, 2020), Canada (Edge & Newbold, 2013; Ghahari et al, 2019; Guruge et al, 2018; McKeary & Newbold, 2010; Pottie et al, 2015) and Indigenous peoples (Beavis et al, 2015; Blanchet Garneau et al, 2018). Structural violence carries a high risk of morbidities such as poor mental health, premature births, low birthweights, precarious living and housing conditions (Krieger, 2014).…”

“…Hall argues that cultural constructions of race create differences to ‘stigmatize and expel anything which is defined as abnormal’ (p. 237). European researchers report a strong dehumanization of Muslim refugees and anti‐refugee attitudes of rejection due to religious beliefs (Bruneau et al; Sezgin, 2018). In Canada, Kazemipur (2014) raises the question of Muslim exceptionalism.…”

Being Muslim in China: Hui Ethnic Perspective

“…The fact that Muslim in Austria still having different right with other citizen and also, they treat differently in all aspect including economy, law, politic, and so on. So that, the conclusion of the research stated that equality is still long way to go and still being the homework of policy makers in the country (Sezgin, 2019). Besides, the confusing identity is also experienced by Muslim in Austria.…”

“…The research sites are including Australia, Uganda, India, China, Thailand, United State, United Kingdom, Austria and another Western European Countries. The topics are also vary such as leadership meaning (Sohrabi, 2016), identity development (Spiegler, 2019), minority education (Akhtar & Narula, 2010;Mcandrew & Ipgrave, 2010;Schulz, 2013), socio-economic integration (Sezgin, 2019), Muslimah literacy (Islam & Siddiqui, 2020), meaning of employment (Tariq & Syed, 2017), minority family (Budhwani et al, 2018), and minority humour (Michael, 2013).…”