Austrian Muslims Gear up for "Bad" 2006

[sonz]

VIENNA, January 3, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – A majority of Austrian Muslims are readying themselves for a bad 2006, especially with a raft of new immigration and citizenship laws expected to come into force.

Some 80 percent of 250 Austrian Muslims polled by IslamOnline.net said they expect more restrictions on the minority during the new year.

Another 20 percent expressed cautious optimism about the future of Muslims not only in Austria but also across Europe in 2006.

The survey was conducted jointly with the Ramadan network, one of the leading Islamic organizations in Austria.

Last September, the Austrian government endorsed changes to the citizenship law, imposing strict restrictions on granting citizenship to immigrants.

Under the law, immigrants married to Austrians and recognized refugees will be required to spend seven years of legal residence in the country before applying for citizenship, compared to four in the current law.

Applicants must pass a German language exam while they were only required to enroll in a government-subsidized language course before.

Austrian Muslims decried the new law, which takes effect with the beginning of the new year, as particularly targeting Muslim immigrants.

According to official statistics, only 19,016 immigrants acquired the Austrian citizenship in the first half of 2005, down by 12.7 percent from the same period of last year.

In 2004, a total of 42,000 immigrants were naturalized.

Demands

Around 65 percent of those polled said the minority has made major achievements in 2005.

However, 30 percent said they were dissatisfied with the performance of Austrian Muslim leaders in serving the minority's issues.

The poll showed that 70 percent of the participants hoped for better interaction between Austrian Muslims.

At least 10 percent demanded more allocations for the social welfare budget, especially to help cover educational and marriage expenses.

More than 20 percent of the Austrian Muslims interviewed also urged job equality with native Austrians.

Failures & Successes

An Austrian Muslim researcher said the minority had its ups and downs during 2005.

"Islamophobia has spread out during the past year," Hossam Shaker told IOL on Tuesday, January 3.

He expected the anti-Islam campaign championed by the rightist Freedom Party, a member of the ruling coalition, during the recent Vienna municipal polls to have more repercussions in 2006.

Shaker further said that 2005 stood witness to the lack of interaction between the different generations, especially in Muslim organizations and centers.

"Women also played a rather marginal role in the minority's activities during the past year."

The Austrian Muslim researcher, however, said the minority had some achievements in 2005.

"We had the construction of an Islamic cemetery in Vienna as well as the setting up of an academy and institute to train Islam teachers."

Muslims are estimated at 400,000 in Austria, making up 4% of the country's 8 million population.

Islam, which was officially acknowledged in Austria in 1912 during the reign of Czar Franz Joseph , is considered the second religion in the country after Catholicism.