VIENNA
Around 200 people gathered in front of the Austrian parliament to protest a bill which aims to revamp a 1912 law on the status of Muslims in the country on Tuesday.
Muslim civil society platform members unfurled banners saying, "We won't accept it," and "Do not touch my religion."
"It is a security and integration law rather than identifying the rights and responsibilities of Muslims," the statement said on behalf of the platform.
"Under these conditions, we will appeal to the constitutional court and European Court of Human Rights to cancel the law," the statement said.
Sinan Ertugrul, a protestor, said that this bill is "worse and more racist and unjust" than the previous one.
The bill aims to prohibit foreign funding for Islamic organizations in Austria and impose a standardized German translation of the Qur’an and other religious texts.
The amendment also regulates who can work as Islamic clerics in the country.
According to the bill, employing preachers from abroad would be prohibited. Imams would instead be trained at Austrian universities.
Currently, some 300 imams work in Austria, including 65 Turkish preachers. There are around 500,000 Muslims living in the country.
www.aa.com.tr/en
