Moves Against the Muslim Brotherhood at the Top of Austria’s Security Hierarchy
Pressure on the Muslim Brotherhood continues to mount in Austria, this time coming from the highest levels of the country’s security establishment, amid an acceleration of efforts to ban and combat the movement.
Silvia Mayer, head of the State Protection Office, Austria’s domestic intelligence service, has warned that the Muslim Brotherhood is seeking to establish parallel societies. She has called for tighter laws governing associations and criminal law to address the threat posed by the group.
In statements to the press, she said: “Political Islamism represents one of the greatest threats to public security and democracy.”
She continued: “This is not only about the Muslim Brotherhood organization, but also about the ideology underlying it. The situation is similar to what is happening with right-wing extremism: the more the ideology spreads among the population, the more liberal and democratic principles are eroded.”
The Austrian government is moving closer to banning political Islamist currents in the country, following the discovery of covert structures linked to the Muslim Brotherhood operating under civilian fronts.
Austria’s ruling People’s Party intends to introduce a bill as soon as possible to ban political Islam, following the disclosure of covert structures linked to the Muslim Brotherhood in the country.
At the end of last month, the federal government abruptly ended its cooperation with Derad, a non-governmental organization involved in combating extremism, because of its links to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Chancellor Christian Stocker, a member of the People’s Party, subsequently endorsed a ban on political Islam, an initiative welcomed by the State Protection Office in a press statement.
Claudia Bauer, the People’s Party minister responsible for matters concerning the Chancellor’s Office, wants to “take decisive action as soon as possible,” according to comments reported by local newspapers.
More recently, Austrian intelligence services established that links existed between an organization active in extremism-prevention circles and the Muslim Brotherhood.
The organization in question is an association known as DERAD, which is part of Austria’s “National Network for the Prevention and Removal of Extremism.”
In addition, DERAD was commissioned by several ministries to carry out various tasks in the areas of deradicalization, combating extremist ideologies, and assisting individuals who have left extremist groups.
For example, it was commissioned by the Ministry of Justice to work on deradicalization based on religious beliefs. In this context, the association worked, among others, with convicted offenders and with people following their release from prison.
However, following a thorough investigation, security authorities found links between the association and the Muslim Brotherhood.
