After the disastrous Operation Luxor, Austria should have learned a bitter lesson: focusing on the wrong groups can cost lives. While around a thousand officers monitored innocent Muslim women, a cold-blooded terrorist was able to murder undisturbed in downtown Vienna.
Now, according to media reports, FPÖ chairman Herbert Kickl is calling for the closure of the Milli Görüs and ATIB mosques – a step that massively endangers the security of our country.
“It is shocking that the FPÖ seem to be deliberately fueling religious extremism in Austria. A ban on legal mosques would be a catastrophic mistake and would drive thousands of young people directly into the arms of radical extremists,” warns Hakan Gördü, chairman of the SÖZ.
“The fact that Austrian politicians, regardless of party affiliation, still cannot distinguish between a brutal terrorist organization and mosque associations operating in Austria is frightening. This deliberate mixing of terms does not serve to prevent extremism, but solely to criminalize the Muslim community,” explains Gördü.
“The ignorance and dangerous ignorance of Austrian politicians regarding Islam are not only part of the problem – they are the main reason for the growing radicalization and extremism we are experiencing in Austria today,” concludes Gördü with a clear warning.
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