DEBATE ON AUSTRIAN MUSLIM COMMUNITY

UNCLAS VIENNA 002437

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER PHUM PGOV AU
SUBJECT: DEBATE ON AUSTRIAN MUSLIM COMMUNITY


THIS MESSAGE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED


Summary
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1. (U) In the aftermath of the London terror attacks,
public debate in Austria has focused on the situation of
its Muslim community. Interior Ministry officials stress
that there are only a few radical elements in the
community and that the GoA is closely monitoring
extremist elements. The official representation of
Muslims in Austria, the "Islamic Religious Community"
(IGG) maintains that "98 percent of mosques" follow the
IGG's course. End Summary.


View from the Interior Ministry
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2. (U) Commenting on the threat level in Austria,
Interior Ministry (MoI) officials emphasized that there
are a few radicals in the Islamic Community. However,
the MoI said that it is closely monitoring these
individuals and groups. The MoI maintained that there
are "fewer than five mosques" where radical Imams are
active.


View from the Muslim Community
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3. (U) During a July 14 television interview, Omar al-
Rawi, spokesman for the IGG, claimed that there are four
mosques in Austria where "radical views" exist. IGG
President Anas Schakfeh noted that "98 percent" of
mosques followed the IGG's course. He admitted a small
group of radical Imams did not cooperate with the IGG.
Schakfeh noted that the IGG works closely with the MoI in
regards to extremist activity in the Muslim community.
Public Director for Security Erik Buxbaum said that
cooperation with the IGG in this area was satisfactory.


4. (U) Al-Rawi also called on the Muslim community to
take action and adopt preventive measures against
terrorism. Al-Rawi referred to an April 24 declaration
from a group of Austrian imams, which clearly distanced
the community from extremism and exhorted Muslims to
focus on mutual respect, tolerance and rejection of
terrorism. Nevertheless, al-Rawi called on the community
to be more proactive. A simple condemnation of terrorist
attacks is not sufficient.


View from Chancellor Schuessel
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5. (U) In a July 16 interview, Chancellor Wolfgang
Schuessel praised the GoA's intensive cooperation with
the IGG and other religious communities. He added that
it is also essential to strengthen the self-cleansing
forces within the Islamic Community. He warned that
there are no absolute guarantees concerning terrorism,
but he lauded the work of security authorities and urged
ordinary citizens to become more vigilant.


Comment
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6. (SBU) The approximately 339,000 Muslims in Austria,
representing 4.2% of the population, are Austria's second-
largest religious group. They come primarily from Turkey
and the former Yugoslavia. The Muslim faith is among the
13 recognized religious societies, and has had this
status since 1912. Due to this status, the Muslim
community has an official representation, the IGG, which
is the GoA's partner on issues of cooperation. Despite a
positive relationship between the GoA and the Muslim
Community, and the community's overall moderate
orientation, Austrian intelligence officials have
publicly warned that several extremist organizations and
movements are also represented through individual
activists in Austria. There have been numerous media
stories on this issue, but no reported incidents of
backlash violence against Muslims.

BROWN