Carinthia bans mosque, minaret construction

Carinthia’s provincial government recently passed a law effectively banning the construction of mosques or minarets. The controversial legislation, passed with the votes of the Conservative People’s party and the right-wing Alliance for Austria’s Future was a sign against the “advancement of Islam,” Provincial Governor Joerg Haider was quoted as saying. The legislation links the construction of mosques with rules concerning the overall look and harmony of towns and villages, thereby aiming at preventing their construction. While Haider, a former leader of the right-wing Freedom Party that in its heyday enjoyed the support of up to 27 percent of Austria’s voters with its antiimmigration rhetoric, praised the new rules as a “guidepost” for Europe, the province’s Social Democrats slammed the measure as a populist farce.
“We have a law for something that does not exist,” party leader Gaby Schaunig was quoted as saying, while pointing out that there had been no application for the construction of a mosque in the province to date. Omar Al-Rawi, a spokesman of Austria’s Muslim community, said the law violated the freedom of religion and principles of equality.