25 February 2015

Austrian law rules imams must be able to speak German - New law passed in parliament also bans foreign sources of financing for Muslim organisations

Austria's parliament has passed a bill amending historical laws on Muslim organisations which will ban foreign sources of financing and require imams to be able to speak German.

The text aims to promote what conservative Integration Minister Sebastian Kurz called an "Islam of European character" by muting the influence of foreign Muslim nations and organisations, and offering Austrian Muslims a mix of increased rights and obligations in practising their faith in the central European country.

However, the law has generated opposition from several quarters, including Austrian Muslim groups that call it "discrimination" that imposes restrictions on Islam that other religions are not saddled with. [Al Jazeera] Read more