Austria to close dozens of mosques

The Turkish-Islamic Union in Austria (ATIB) issued a statement in the name of 60 associations, saying that dozens of mosques in the country will be closed according to the new “Law on Islam."

A statement issued by ATIB says in part: “ Associations that aim to teach the Islamic religion will be closed as of the date of 1 March 2015 by a decree of The Ministry of Interior in virtue of Law of Islam."

The union appealed to the Constitutional Court in the name of 60 different unions in an attempt to cancel the “Law on Islam" that will lead to mosque closings.

Fatih Karadaş, head of ATIB, said that they appealed to the court in July; however, the government raised an objection.

“If things continue to happen like this, our mosques will be closed after March 2016. We are waiting for the decision of Constitutional Court. " he added.

Austria's parliament passed a “Law on Islam" on February 25 that seeks to regulate how Islam is administered, singling out its large Muslim minority for treatment not applied to any other religious group.

The law bans the foreign funding of mosques and Islamic organizations, requires imams to speak German, and certifies that groups representing Austrian Muslims must use a standardized German edition of the Qur'an.

Mehmet Gormez, the head of the Diyanet, said before that "with this draft legislation, religious freedoms in Austria will have fallen back a hundred years."

There are more than 300 mosques in Austria, serving a population of about 600,000 Muslims. Muslims make up about 6 percent of the country's population and are predominately families of Turkish migrant workers.