After World War II Austria was able to wrangle that they were an occupied nation by Nazi Germany. Whoever knows anything abouut the Nazi era knows that the Austrians were 110% Nazis and many still are.
Esad Širbegović is a writer and analyst based in Zurich, Switzerland. He is also a member of the International Expert Team at the Institute for Research of Genocide Canada. In 2022, he served as the Director of the International Expert Team for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, focusing on the Srebrenica genocide denial case at the University of Vienna. Esad’s work is deeply rooted in his personal experiences and centres on the critical issues of Islamophobia and genocide.
Johanna Mikl-Leitner, governor of Lower Austria and a politician from the Austrian centre-right
People’s Party (ÖVP), recently stated in an interview with ORF, Austria’s national
television, that the country must “wage a fight against Islam.”
Her statement came in the context of justifying her party’s sudden policy shift regarding the far-right
FPÖ. The ÖVP had previously ruled out forming a government with the FPÖ due to serious
corruption scandals that marked the collapse of their last coalition. That political collaboration was
marred by widespread illegal activities, ultimately leading to the downfall and conviction of
former Austrian Chancellor and so-called European “Wunderkind” Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP).
The FPÖ, a party founded after World War II by former SS members and Nazis, has long been
considered a party created by Nazis for Nazis.
In the ORF interview, Mikl-Leitner rejected the need for early elections and suggested the
possibility of forming a government with the FPÖ, led by Herbert Kickl—a politician who openly
identifies with the title “Volkskanzler” (People’s Chancellor), a term historically associated with
Adolf Hitler. Just last year, FPÖ members attending the funeral of a longtime party leader sang a
song praising the “Holy German Reich,” which was popularized during the Nazi period.
Yet, for Mikl-Leitner, Islam seems to pose a greater threat than the Nazis.
The Normalization of Islamophobia in Austria
Her statement went unchallenged during and after the interview’s broadcast, highlighting the
normalization of Islamophobic discourse in Austrian society. Hundreds of media
professionals—producers, editors, and journalists—had the opportunity to ask a critical question
or condemn her rhetoric, but they remained silent.
Such passivity is not just a failure of journalistic ethics but also a tacit endorsement of the
dangerous ideologies her words represent. This indifference is reminiscent of the period before
the Holocaust when toxic slogans against Jews were allowed to spread unchecked.
Then, as now, the role of the media was crucial in legitimizing hatred—whether through active
approval or passive ignorance.
Targeting Islam
Mikl-Leitner’s statements are not an isolated incident; they are part of a broader societal trend in
which discriminatory language and policies are becoming political norms.
She later claimed that her statement was a “slip of the tongue” and that she actually meant
“political Islam,” but such clarifications failed to conceal the underlying prejudice.
The concept of a Freudian slip, where unconscious thoughts inadvertently surface, is
particularly relevant in this context—especially considering that Sigmund Freud himself, an
Austrian Jew, was forced to flee his homeland in 1938 due to institutionalized racism.
Then, the target was Judaism; today, it is Islam. The parallels are chilling. Both antisemitism and
Islamophobia are rooted in the process of dehumanization, portraying the targeted groups as
existential threats to the cultural and political order.
Far from being a mere slip of the tongue, Mikl-Leitner’s words reveal a deeper sickness within
Austria’s political and social landscape.
The president of the Islamic Religious Community in Austria (IGGO) has demanded an
explanation for her remarks. Hakan Gördü, president of the left-leaning party Social Austria of
the Future (SÖZ), has called for an immediate apology. Mikl-Leitner not only refused to
apologize but further intensified her rhetoric: “Anyone who walks through our country with open
eyes will see that too many immigrants in Austria place their religion above our customs and
laws. And I do not accept that.”
Unlike some of its European neighbors, Austria has not witnessed public Quran burnings thanks
to a strong legal framework protecting religious freedoms. Austrian criminal law, in accordance
with Paragraph 189, explicitly criminalizes actions that disrupt or endanger religious practices
through violence or threats of violence. Offenders face penalties of up to two years in prison,
underscoring the country’s commitment to protecting religious communities.
Statements calling for a “fight against Islam” clearly constitute a threat of violence. It remains to
be seen whether the laws that Mikl-Leitner so readily invokes will be applied equally to her. She
is currently facing legal proceedings initiated by various organizations and individuals, including
the SÖZ party.
At a Crossroads
Will Austria consistently apply its own laws, or have Muslims already been reduced to
second-class citizenship?
A failure to uphold legal equality would mark a dangerous shift toward systemic inequality andcould signal Austria’s entry into an apartheid-like state. This case also tests Austria’s
commitment to secularism, which requires both the separation of religion from the state and the
non-interference of government in religious affairs.
If laws are to be just, they must also apply to leaders whose rhetoric fuels hatred against a
specific religion.
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