In Vienna cemeteries have long been seen as “interconfessional,” and in 2008 a 3.4 hectare Islamic cemetery was opened. According to the speaker for the cemetery, Ali Ibrahim, “There is no longer an excuse to be repatriated to the homeland for burial, as Islamic rites are respected in Austria as well. When one is buried…
Germany’s most prominent and, for some, controversial Islam professor has declared that he is no longer a Muslim. Muhammad Kalisch, who converted to Islam when he was a teenager, is the first chair of Islamic education and teacher training in Germany at the University of Münster. Controversy started when he declared that according to scientific…
In debates on integration the headscarf is of seen as a symbol of unwillingness to integrate. However, what about women who wear the headscarf of their own free will, who speak perfect German, and who pursue higher studies? In the case of Esma and Meryem, both born in Austria, students at the University of Vienna,…
Approximately five hundred people attended a recent conference in the Viennese Burgtheater organized by the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) on the subject of immigration and integration, which brought together four prominent speakers: former Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato; Yale professor Seyla Benhabib; Armin Laschet, Integration Minister for the German state of North-Rhine Westphalia; and…
The president of the Austrian Islamic Religious Community (IGGiÖ), Anas Schakfeh, has been awarded the gold medal for public service to the federal state of Vienna. Thomas Oliva, chairman of the Vienna Immigration Commission, called Schakfeh a “role model,” while Michael Häupl, mayor of Vienna, thanked him for his help in the smooth cooperation between…
