Islam in Austria – An Overview

March 2016 (updated), Dr. Werner T. Bauer, 42 Pages

Islam is not a monolithic religion. In this sense, Islam, like Christianity, does not exist. Nevertheless, Sunni Islam of the Hanafi school was long regarded as the legitimate representative of the religious community in Austria, where Islam has been recognised for more than a hundred years. How is the Islamic community in Austria (IGGIÖ) structured today, what are their tasks and where do the members of the large mosques come from, which are usually still organised according to national or ethnic principles – even when many of the Muslims living in Austria are already in possession of Austrian citizenship. The most important areas of conflict between the Austrian majority society and the Muslims living here have been the same for years – veiling, halal slaughter and the establishment of Islamic places of worship. The question which can not be answered conclusively is whether the majority of Muslims living in Austria are on the way to gradual secularisation or if there is an intensified retreat into radical religiosity. It is also unclear what the impact of the new Islam law will be. The bill was presented at the end of 2014 and has led to controversial discussions.

zur Studie (pdf)

   Impressum      Datenschutz