The danger of political Islam in Europe… Calls for confrontation and optimism for its demise
At an accelerated pace, European countries, foremost among them Austria, are on the path of combating political Islam in Europe, in order to avoid the danger of these groups in the old continent.
The Vienna Forum, which started on Thursday in the Austrian capital, discussed the fight against political Islam, with which Arab spoke of her experience as a minister of integration.
This is what Susan Raab, the Austrian Minister of Integration, said in a panel discussion at the forum.
“Political Islam is against democratic values,” Raab said. “We don’t want such an ideology in Austria.”
“We must differentiate between Islam as a religion and extremist ideologies that are a threat to religious freedom,” she said.
The optimism of ending political Islam’s danger
“There are some governments that are feeding anti-democratic ideas in our society,” Danish Immigration and Integration Minister Mattias Tesfaye said in the same panel discussion, referring to countries that support political Islam.
“I am confident that we will succeed in confronting this threat, and we share the same vision with France and Austria in confronting this threat,” he said.
Earlier today, the Vienna Forum against Political Islam was launched at the Lower Austria Palace in the center of the capital.
In the forum’s first panel discussion, Lisa Wilhofer, director of the Center for the Documentation of Political Islam in Austria, stressed the need to “study, analyze and monitor the Muslim Brotherhood network in Europe, not just Austria.”
The forum is “a new beginning to unite and strengthen efforts to confront this threat” at the European level, she said, referring to the goal of the forum organized by the Austrian Ministry of Integration.
According to the official Austrian Press Agency, the forum aims at the international political and professional exchange on ideologies, networks, actors, and activities of political Islam in Europe, as well as how to combat them.
