‘I don’t want our children growing up in an Islamic state’: Austria moves to ban political Islam

Austria’s government is preparing a proposal to constitutionally ban “political Islam,” after Chancellor Christian Stocker declared the ideology “incompatible with democracy and Western values.” Integration Minister Claudia Bauer is now drafting a proposal for Austria’s governing coalition, vowing: “We will fight political Islam with all means available.”

“I do not want our children and grandchildren to grow up in an Islamic state,” Stocker said, arguing that religious freedom ends where democratic institutions, equal rights, and Austrian law are rejected. He warned against Islamist influence in schools, including pressure over how girls dress, adding: “It cannot be allowed to happen in this country that a preacher dictates things rather than Parliament.”

The push comes amid growing concern over Islamist influence in Austria, where the government already operates a center dedicated to monitoring political Islam, including the Muslim Brotherhood and the activities of Hezbollah and Hamas