Austrian Integration Minister Suzanne Raab has been criticized for the so-called “map of political Islam”. The map lists 623 Islamic organizations, societies, and mosques, and their main offices in Austria. “This is in no way related to a general suspicion of Muslims,” she said in the German newspaper Die Welt. “It is about the common struggle against political Islam as fertile ground for extremism.”
Representatives of the Austrian opposition and Islamist groups have criticized the fact that all Islamist organizations are shown on the map, regardless of whether or not they have anti-democratic tendencies. On Saturday, an organization for Muslim youth announced that it would file a complaint against the card.
Yesterday, the Council of Europe demanded that Austria withdraw the card because many Muslims feel disgraced and threatened. The organizations’ addresses and other details about them have been published.
“I prefer to preach in the back rooms.”
According to Rab, it is not true that Muslim representatives are in danger now that the map has been published. The minister said, “If someone says he wants to establish an Islamic organization but does not want anyone to know, then that shows the exact problem. Then you prefer to preach in private back rooms.”
According to her, the map is interesting for Muslims who do not want anything to do with extremism. “They must also know which mosque to go to and what structures and ideologies are behind it,” she concludes.
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