22 June 2017•Update: 23 June 2017
By Askin Kiyagan
VIENNA
Austria’s Foreign Minister expressed his opposition to Islamic kindergartens in the country, claiming these schools limit the integration of the immigrants.
Speaking at a panel discussion organized by Vienna-based German language newspaper Kurier, Sebastian Kurz argued that these schools raise individuals isolated from the society.
When asked if these schools should be closed down, Kurz said that the schools were getting aid from the state. If the criteria are made difficult to get the support, the schools will close down, he added.
“Apart from this, I think there is no necessity for [these schools]. There should not be Islamic kindergartens,” he said.
Kurz said that around 10,000 children were attending these schools in the capital Vienna. He said these pre-school education institutions were financed by taxes and provide ‘low-level education’.
Children who attend these schools cannot learn enough German, the minister added.
Earlier this year, Kurz drafted a headscarf ban on public servants.
He also insisted during an earlier EU foreign ministers meeting to freeze Turkey’s EU memberships talks, arguing that this would be the right response to recent political developments in the EU-candidate country.
