The Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections have, on balance, handed President Erdoğan the victory he had hoped for – a victory that had looked in jeopardy in the run-up to election day. Most importantly, the Turkish leader managed to retain the Presidency, winning an absolute majority of 52.6 per cent in the first round.1 Importance…
It has been a little over four months that the new Austrian government has been in place. Led by the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) under Chancellor Kurz, a youthful enfant terrible who has given the ÖVP conservatism renewed appeal with a sharp shift to the right, the government also includes the far-right Freedom Party of…
Arrest on November 16 A 51-year-old man working at the German domestic intelligence agency – the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz) – has been exposed as an alleged sympathiser of the jihadist cause. He was arrested on November 16, after he had been placed under surveillance by his own…
Since the last few months the amendment of the Austrian Islam law is critically discussed by constitutional lawyers, academics as well as members of the Islamic community. However, according to the daily newspaper standard the minister of foreign affairs Sebastian Kurz and other party members of the ÖVP are willing to discuss key points of…
In Austria, Islam was recognized as a religious corporate body by the Hapsburgian Monarchy in 1914, later on it was also recognized by the Austrian state. However, since recent upcoming radical terrorist groups like IS, the Austrian government partly changes or adds new provisions to the existing Islam law. For example Muslim holidays will…
