Turkey voices support for Austrian Muslims

HELSINKI - Anadolu Agency

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Turkey will make every effort to protect Muslims in Austria, especially those of Turkish descent, from being harmed due to a controversial recently approved bill regulating Islam in the country, Turkey’s EU minister said on Feb. 26.

“We cannot accept any harm to Muslims because of this law and we will make every effort to prevent such harm,” EU Minister Volkir Bozkır told Anadolu Agency during a visit to Finland’s capital, Helsinki.

The Austrian Parliament passed a law on Feb. 25 banning foreign funding for Muslim organizations in the country and requires the usage of a standardized German translation of the Quran.

The updated “Law on Islam,” which was prepared by the coalition of the Social Democratic Party and the People’s Party, aims to regulate how Islam is managed inside the country, and includes provisions requiring imams to be able to speak German, standardizing the Quran in the German language, and banning Islamic organizations from receiving foreign funding.

Bozkır added that reactions against the law must be expressed within limits, saying “reactions should not be excessive and they should be expressed in line with democracy … Turkey is sharing its opinions about this issue with Austria.”

He also spoke about increasing racism and Islamophobia in Europe, adding that “the removal of Islamophobia and racist terms, and the convergence of cultures and religions, is a cure to prevent radicalism.”