Austria is closing seven mosques and could expel dozens of imams from the country, the government has announced.
At a press conference today, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said the government is shutting down a Turkish mosque and dissolving a group called the Arab Religious Community, which runs six mosques.
The Austrian government’s actions stem from a 2015 law, which bans foreign funding of religious groups and required Muslim societies to have “a positive fundamental view towards [Austria’s] state and society”.
According to Al Jazeera news, Culture Minister Gernot Blumel said the Arab mosques were accused of preaching Salafi positions and would, therefore, be shuttered.
Salafism is a school of theology based on a strict and literal interpretation of Islam.
