The Threat of Islam in Austria
from Gates of ViennaI previously reported on a survey of Flemish voters that showed how many people in Flanders consider Islam a threat, despite all the decades of multicultural indoctrination.
Now comes a mirror-image survey from Austria, showing the intolerant and non-integrative attitudes of Austria’s Muslims. And remember: teachers were the ones being surveyed. These weren’t ignorant denizens of the “Muslim street”; they were the people officially charged by the Austrian state with Islamic education.
Our Austrian correspondent ESW has compiled a report based on German-language sources. First, her prefatory note:
Muslims in Austria, especially those of official Islam, are highly nervous about the study that was made public two days ago.
Mouhanad Khorchide is a fairly well-known
scientist, often invited to discussions. He was also on the panel at the
recent discussion at the political academy of the ÖVP, where he filled
in for Tariq Ramadan. He can certainly be considered a liberal Muslim,
but a Muslim nonetheless.
I am wary of him, but he is helpful,
because Muslims cannot complain about the study having been written by
infidels; it was written by one of their own. This is the main reason
for their nervousness. Even the political left is nervous about the
results of the study. Some even consider revoking Islam’s status as a
religious group if changes are not made.
However, I am looking forward to watching
these changes unfold. How can the Quran and its contents be changed?
People need to realize that it is not the teachers who are the problem,
but rather Islam.
Will there be a special Quran for Austria? An Austrian Islam? What will Saudi Arabia say?
Interesting times. The truth will prevail.
The lie of Islam will hopefully be exposed. Thank you, Mr. Khorchide.
You have helped the Counterjihad more than you will ever know!
Here is the translation of an article from Wednesday’s Die Presse:
Islamic Teachers A Problem
One in five teachers of Islam (21.9%) has a
problem with democracy. And he or she even says so openly. This is the
result of a written survey meticulously conducted by the sociologist and
scientist Mouhanad Khorchide. Apart from the above assertion, there is
additional explosive data: 14.7% distance themselves from the Austrian
constitution, 13.9% are of the opinion that elections are not compatible
with Islam, and 28.4% believe that it is not possible to be a European
and Muslim at the same time.
Even more, there are those among the polled Islamic teachers (18.2%) who advocate the death penalty in case of apostasy. And 8.5% sympathize with those using violence to spread Islam.
Anas Shakfeh, the head of the Islamic
Faith Community in Austria, also concludes that beliefs and attitudes
such as the above are highly problematic. However, direct consequences
cannot be drawn from this study because the questionnaires were made
anonymous. “I cannot react to a private opinion,” Shakfeh says. If a
teacher does make these statements, there would be consequences.
But the hiring of Islamic teachers is the
responsibility of Islamic Faith Community, not that of the state. This
resulted in the hiring of teachers who were inadequately trained or not
trained at all. 37% of those teaching right now have no theological
training, 41% are not trained as teachers — all this can also be found
in the study.
The Faith Community blames these numbers
on “relics”: when Islamic religious teaching was first introduced in
1982, there were no qualified teachers in Austria, which meant they had
to be “imported” from Turkey. Only in 1998 was the Islamic Religious
Academy (IRPA) founded in Vienna [as part of the University of Vienna].
Things have since changed somewhat, says
Khorchide. “Second-generation religious teachers identify more strongly
with Austria. They do not have deficits [such as those found in the
study].” On the other hand, these younger teachers do not emphasize
critical reflection, but rather convey rituals and laws. There remains
much to do.
The title of the study was: Mouhanad Khorchide, “Islamic Religious
Education between Integration and Parallel Societies: Attitudes and
Beliefs of Islamic Religious Teachers in Public Schools”The survey questions were:
| 1. | “I oppose democracy because it cannot be reconciled with the teachings of Islam.” | |
| 2. | “I believe it is not possible to be a European and a Muslim.” | |
| 3. | “Islam forbids taking part in elections (i.e. voting).” | |
| 4. | “I oppose the Austrian constitution because it is in contradiction with Islam.” | |
| 5. | “Islam dies not allow participation in Austrian cultural activities (theater, art, etc.).” | |
| 6. | “I oppose the Human Rights Convention because it is not compatible with Islamic teachings.” |
The 37-year old Lebanese native considers
himself a liberal Muslim who does not read the Quran as the literal word
of God, and who applies scientific methods when he trains religious
teachers and works as an imam.
What makes his Ph.D. thesis so exceptional
is its exclusive approach in matters of Islam, school and integration.
The higher echelons in the Faith Community saw potential in Khorchide
and in 2007 gave him permission to hand out his questionnaires at a
conference for religious teachers. 210 teachers (out of 330) teachers
returned the questionnaires. Experts say that results are particularly
representative for Vienna and Lower Austria [two states in the eastern
part of Austria]. The best and most highly trained teachers can be found
in these two states.
The study finds a quarter of teachers who
answer questions regarding democracy, rule of law, and integration
precisely the way right-wing populists allege and liberals fear. The
older the teacher, the greater the rejection of the rule of law and
democratic principles. What is especially disconcerting is that 44% of
the teachers believe that students primarily need to learn about
feelings of superiority.
One in three teachers does not hold
Austrian citizenship. Teachers hail from Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and
Egypt, first-generation immigrants who were not exposed to democratic
values and freedom in their home countries. How can they now convey
these values to their students?
The Faith Community is represented by Anas
Shakfeh. He has been president for ten years and worked as a teacher.
Official Austria holds him in high regard on integration matters. He was
even given a prestigious award for his efforts. Shakfeh is the head of
the Islamic education authority and taught without formal training for
20 years. He also works for the Saudi Arabian embassy in Vienna. Is one
who works for an inhuman theocracy and who knows little about education
science and teaching skills the right man to establish an open and
modern Islamic religious education?
A couple of weeks ago he subtly denied
Israel’s right to exist. As a result, our interview starts with a
discussion about the war in Gaza. Khorchide’s study? He has read parts
of it. “They’re not catastrophic, but also not OK”, Shakfeh says. “Since
Khorchide also teaches at university, it is also up to him to make
improvements.”
Here are some of the first political reactions, as summarized by ESW from ORF:
Both the minister of education and the
mayor of Vienna are publicly demanding consequences. Interestingly
enough, both the minister and the mayor are members of the socialist
parties.
Says mayor Michael Häupl: “The fact that a
fifth of the Islamic religious teachers oppose democracy causes me
sleepless nights. If I had a study like this about indigenous teachers, I
would faint.” He warns that any changes in the way teachers are trained
would also mean consequences for Catholic teachers, because according
to the law on religious education of 1949, it is the religious groups
who are in charge of religious education; the state only acts as a
supervisor.
Minister Claudia Schmied said in an
interview with Austrian television that this survey calls for
consequences and that she will seek a meeting with Anas Shakfeh.
All other Austrian political parties have
already reacted to the controversial survey well before the socialists
did: Sirvan Ekici (ÖVP, conservative party), in charge of integration
matters, wants the Faith Community to make sure its teachers conform to
Austrian laws and values.
Socialists demand a “comprehensive
explanation from the Faith Community. It is necessary to make sure that
nothing that goes against democratic values is taught. There is no room
for fundamentalist tendencies.”
The Freedom Party (FPÖ) and Jörg Haider’s
spin-off, BZÖ, are in agreement that mosques and schools need to be
monitored closely. This should be done by the Federal Agency for State
Protection and Counterterrorism, since the Faith Community is unwilling
or unable to take care of this.
Even the Green Party finds the results of
the study troubling: “Whoever opposes human rights or demands the death
penalty for apostasy is not fit to teach in Austrian schools,” says
Harald Walser, who also warns of the existence of parallel societies.
Some more background from ORF:
Islamic religious teaching has been taking
place at Austrian public schools for 27 years. There are 350 teachers
for 32,000 students. Khorchide adds that there has never been a
scientific evaluation of Islamic religious classes. Until 1998, when the
university institute IRPA was founded, teachers were recruited among
the Arab population in Austria. Some of those have radical tendencies
and continue teaching to this day.
See ESW’s Counterji
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