Politicizing Islam in Austria

The Far-Right Impact in the Twenty-First Century

Farid Hafez, Reinhard Heinisch

• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN: 9781978830448, 9781978830455
• eBook ISBN: 9781978830462
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: European Politics

Among its Continental peers, Austria has stood out for its longstanding state recognition of the Muslim community as early as 1912. A shift has occurred more recently, however, as populist far-right voices within the Austrian government have redirected public discourse and put into question Islam's previously accepted autonomous status within the country. 

Politicizing Islam in Austria examines this anti-Muslim swerve in Austrian politics through a comprehensive analysis of government policies and regulations, as well as party and public discourses. In their innovative study, Hafez and Heinisch show how the far-right Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) adapted anti-Muslim discourse to their political purposes and how that discourse was then appropriated by the conservative center-right Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). This reconfiguration of the political landscape prepared the way for a right-wing coalition government between conservatives and far-right actors that would subsequently institutionalize anti-Muslim political demands and change the shape of the civic conditions and public perceptions of Islam and the Muslim community in the republic. 
 

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• List of Abbreviations
• 1. Introduction
• 2. The Context: Islam and the (Radical) Right in Austrian Politics
• 3. The Discourse about Islam
• 4. Legal Status of Islam
• 5. Muslim Headscarf—Austrian Culture War
• 6. The Security State
• 7. Attitudes and Perceptions of Austrian Voters toward Muslims
• 8. Conclusion
• Acknowledgments
• Notes
• References
• Index
• About the Authors