Islam of European Character

• 03.01.2015, 21:51
•  Europe,  Region,  World

The reforms to the Islam Law approved by the Parliament of Austria are by many called controversial and have especially been criticized by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. According to the Turkish President this reforms contradict the EU acquis. "On the one hand you tell about the EU acquis, but on the other hand you take steps which totally oppose the EU acquis," – Erdoğan said, Hurriyet reports.

Turkey's EU Minister Volkan Bozkır also expressed his dissatisfaction with the updated law and said that Turkey will do its best to protect Muslims, especially Turks, from the inconveniences the updated Law regulating Islam can cause.  

Earlier the Austrian Parliament voted in favor of the reforms in the Islam Law. According to some amendments, as Gatestone Institute informs, foreign funding for mosques, imams and Muslim organizations in Austria will be banned. The updated Law also says that the Austrian Law should take precedence over the Sharia Law for Muslims living in Austria. It also includes provisions requiring imams to be able to speak German.

The original Islam Law of Austria dates back to 1912. The aim of the Law was to help integrate Muslim soldiers into the Habsburg Imperial Army. According to the Law, Islam was declared as an official religion in Austria.

This Law in Austria is now called "Islam of European character" and is said to serve as a model for the whole Europe. It is understandable that the adoption of such a Law is in direct connection with the situation in Europe, the increasing threats by the Islamic State militants, hence the increase of Islamophobia. Despite the criticism by Turkey, today the whole world is in such a tense situation that any measure taken by a country to strengthen the protection of its society should be considered a right step. Of course, it should also not be forgotten that the steps taken should not become beneficial for some part of the society and violate the rights of the others.