https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Austria in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday strongly criticised Austria's move to close mosques and expel Turkish-funded imams, slamming the decision as anti-Islamic and promising a response. https://www.thelocal.at/20180610/erdogan-denounces-austrian-decision-to-close-mosques Sun, 10 Jun 2018 11:53:19 +0200 erdogan-denounces-austrian-decision-to-close-mosques As Austrians grow more openly hostile towards Muslims, major political parties are deliberately brandishing Islamophobia in the Catholic majority country ahead of next month's parliamentary election. https://www.thelocal.at/20170921/muslims-worried-austria-election Thu, 21 Sep 2017 12:18:50 +0200 muslims-worried-austria-election Around 2,000 protesters gathered in central Vienna on Saturday to demonstrate against the Austrian government’s plan to ban women from wearing the full-face veil in public places, according to police estimates. https://www.thelocal.at/20170206/2000-strong-protest-in-vienna-against-veil-ban Mon, 06 Feb 2017 12:39:51 +0100 2000-strong-protest-in-vienna-against-veil-ban The far-right Identitarian youth movement has placed a veil on one of Vienna’s most famous statues as a protest against what they call “the Islamisation of Austria”. https://www.thelocal.at/20161130/identitarian-group-veils-maria-theresa-statue Wed, 30 Nov 2016 12:20:02 +0100 identitarian-group-veils-maria-theresa-statue A study by the City of Vienna shows that a high proportion of Muslim teenagers in the Austrian capital are at risk of being radicalised. https://www.thelocal.at/20161017/young-muslims-at-risk-of-radicalisation-in-vienna Mon, 17 Oct 2016 11:53:28 +0200 young-muslims-at-risk-of-radicalisation-in-vienna The family of a Muslim woman who was attacked in Vienna on Tuesday by an unknown assailant have told police they suspect the assault was motivated by Islamophobia. https://www.thelocal.at/20160921/muslim-woman-attacked-and-bitten-in-vienna Wed, 21 Sep 2016 12:17:02 +0200 muslim-woman-attacked-and-bitten-in-vienna Salzburg’s deputy mayor has called for parents not to send their children to kindergartens wearing headscarves, arguing they could turn young girls into sex objects. https://www.thelocal.at/20160901/calls-for-no-headscarves-in-kindergartens-in-salzburg Thu, 01 Sep 2016 11:37:00 +0200 calls-for-no-headscarves-in-kindergartens-in-salzburg Vienna is to join London and Berlin in protesting against the introduction of a burqini ban on beaches in 30 seaside towns in France. https://www.thelocal.at/20160826/protest-against-burqini-ban-planned-in-vienna Fri, 26 Aug 2016 11:16:14 +0200 protest-against-burqini-ban-planned-in-vienna An Austrian politician provoked an angry reaction online after posting a photo of two nuns wearing habits and sarcastically joking they were ‘oppressed women’ wearing burqas. https://www.thelocal.at/20160818/austrian-politician-blasted-for-comparing-burka-to-nuns-habits Thu, 18 Aug 2016 13:47:47 +0200 austrian-politician-blasted-for-comparing-burka-to-nuns-habits A sports shop owner has come under fire after he put up a sign banning customers wearing full face veils, a move described by the local mayor as "unacceptable". https://www.thelocal.at/20160715/no-bikes-for-burka-wearers-in-tyrol-austria-middle-east-gulf-tourists Fri, 15 Jul 2016 11:27:21 +0200 no-bikes-for-burka-wearers-in-tyrol-austria-middle-east-gulf-tourists One of Austria’s highest courts has ruled that companies who ban the wearing of face veils are ‘not discriminating’ against their employees. https://www.thelocal.at/20160705/austria-rules-face-veil-ban-at-work-is-not-discriminatory Tue, 05 Jul 2016 13:00:19 +0200 austria-rules-face-veil-ban-at-work-is-not-discriminatory Burkinis (the full head-to-ankle swimsuit worn by some Muslim women) have now been banned from a swimming pool in the town of Hainfeld in Lower Austria - by order of the council. https://www.thelocal.at/20160701/lower-austrian-pool-bans-burqinis Fri, 01 Jul 2016 13:10:43 +0200 lower-austrian-pool-bans-burqinis The presidential candidate of Austria’s right-wing Freedom Party (FPÖ) has said if he were to win he would not swear in women wearing headscarves as ministers or appoint them as judges. https://www.thelocal.at/20160407/women-with-headscarves-cant-be-ministers-says-austrian-presidential-candidate Thu, 07 Apr 2016 12:23:13 +0200 women-with-headscarves-cant-be-ministers-says-austrian-presidential-candidate ZARA, a Vienna-based NGO which works to combat racism and promote civil courage, released its annual Racism Report today - highlighting a spike in racially motivated attacks on Jews, Muslims, Roma and asylum seekers. https://www.thelocal.at/20150320/racism-report-notes-spike-in-anti-muslim-attacks Fri, 20 Mar 2015 16:28:53 +0100 racism-report-notes-spike-in-anti-muslim-attacks A young Muslim woman has been awarded €1,550 in damages after the Upper Austrian Chamber of Labour and the Ombud for Equal Treatment ruled that she had been discriminated against in a job application because she wears a headscarf. https://www.thelocal.at/20150210/muslim-woman-awarded-damages-for-interview-jibe Tue, 10 Feb 2015 17:00:00 +0100 muslim-woman-awarded-damages-for-interview-jibe A new survey on how Islam is viewed in Austria suggests that anti-Muslim sentiment has risen sharply in the wake of the Paris shootings, with 69 percent of those polled saying they did not believe that Islam belongs in Austria. https://www.thelocal.at/20150209/poll-islam-does-not-belong-in-austria Mon, 09 Feb 2015 11:50:00 +0100 poll-islam-does-not-belong-in-austria In a barbaric affront to Muslim sensibilities, part of a pig's head and some pork tripe was attached to the door of a Mosque in Vienna's 21st district on Christmas day. https://www.thelocal.at/20141227/pigs-head-nailed-to-mosque-door-in-vienna Sat, 27 Dec 2014 12:06:00 +0100 pigs-head-nailed-to-mosque-door-in-vienna An Egyptian man who moved into a house in Grossenzersdorf in Lower Austria told his neighbours the 60-year-old figure of Jesus on a cross outside his home was an 'eyesore' - so he cut it down with an angle grinder. https://www.thelocal.at/20141224/muslim-cuts-down-eyesore-jesus-cross Wed, 24 Dec 2014 10:25:00 +0100 muslim-cuts-down-eyesore-jesus-cross A 60-year-old Muslim woman was seriously injured after being attacked at a bank in Vienna, in an incident which appears to have been motivated by Islamophobia. https://www.thelocal.at/20141209/muslim-woman-attacked-at-vienna-bank Tue, 09 Dec 2014 12:18:00 +0100 muslim-woman-attacked-at-vienna-bank A telephone hotline intended to help deradicalize young Muslims in Austria will launch in December, according to an interview with Family Affairs minister Sophie Karmasin of the conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). https://www.thelocal.at/20141020/deradicalization-hotline-to-launch-in-december Mon, 20 Oct 2014 14:08:09 +0200 deradicalization-hotline-to-launch-in-december