Austria: Graz politician attacks Islam

A candidate campaigning for the Graz city council in Austria says it is time that Islam was "thrown back ... behind the Mediterranean," and alleges Muhammad wrote the Koran in "epileptic fits."


Susanne Winter, campaigning for the Graz city council, called the Prophet Muhammad a child molester. Election campaigns, it would seem, are uncomfortable times for immigrants to be in Europe. First, it was Ronald Koch, the conservative politician in the German state of Hesse who turned up the rhetoric and began railing against "criminal young foreigners" in his country. Now, an Austrian politician has followed suit.


Susanne Winter, a right-wing politician with the FPÖ party running for a city council seat in the city of Graz, blasted Muslims on Sunday, saying that "in today's system" the Prophet Muhammad would be considered a "child molester," apparently referring to his marriage to a six-year-old child. She also said that it is time for Islam to be "thrown back where it came from, behind the Mediterranean." Not yet finished, she also claimed that Muhammad wrote the Koran in "epileptic fits."


In an interview with the daily Österreich published on Monday, Winter continued the onslaught saying that child abuse is "widespread" among Muslim men and that Graz is facing a "tsunami of Muslim immigration." In 20 or 30 years, she warned, half of Austria's population would be Muslim.


Her comments have resulted in a storm of protest in Austria, with politicians and commentators of all stripes taking Winter and her party to task. Austrian prosecutors are also looking into the possibility of filing charges against the 50-year-old politician for incitement.


Her comments, said Omar Al-Rawi, head of integration for an Austrian association of Muslims, showed "a lack of respect" and they "had no basis in fact." He told the Süddeutsche Zeitung that such Islam bashing has reached a point in Austria that "one wants to puke."


But despite the strong reaction generated by Winter, such rhetoric is hardly foreign to political campaigns in Austria. Her party was created by Jörg Haider, the notoriously right-leaning politician who found success in the 1990s and earlier this decade with a mixture of xenophobia and nationalism. He has since moved on, but his rhetoric has remained the same. Campaigning recently for his new group, the Association for Austria's Future (BZÖ), he said, "We are still allowed to say Gruss Gott," -- the traditional Austrian greeting -- "and don't have to praise Allah."

Winter's comments are also reminiscent of controversial remarks made recently by Roland Koch in his campaign to be re-elected as the governor of the western German state of Hesse. Following a brutal pre-Christmas attack by two youths -- one German born with Turkish parents and the other an immigrant from Greece -- against a pensioner in a Munich subway, Koch has turned youth crime, particularly that perpetrated by those with foreign backgrounds, into his No. 1 campaign issue. Among other questionable comments, he said it must be clear that the slaughtering (of animals) in the kitchen ... runs counter to our principles."

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Austrian Muslim leaders have taken into their strides offensive anti-Islam remarks made by a member of a right-wing party, saying such "third-class" politicians do not deserve even their jeers.


"We appeal to all Muslims to remain calm and not be provoked by third-class politicians," Carla Amina Baghajati, spokeswoman for the Islamic Community of Austria, told the local tabloid Oesterreich in statements carried Monday, January 14, by Agence France-Presse (AFP).


The astute Muslim reaction came after Susanne Winter, an MP for the right-wing Freedom Party (FP?), described Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as a "child molester" who wrote the Qur'an "during epileptic fits."


Baghajati said the FP? politicians are just "are getting ever more provocative and disrespectful."


The FP? is notorious for its repetitive vile attacks on Islam and Muslims in the country.


During last year's parliamentary polls, the party circulated pamphlets that dismissed Islam as a threat to the Christian identity of Austria.


Austrian Muslims are estimated at 400,000, or nearly 4 percent of the European country's 8 million population.


Last year, Austria Muslims have championed a nation-wide campaign to introduce the Prophet and his teachings to their fellow countrymen.


The campaign echoed others launched by Muslims Europe-wide in response to the sacrilegious Danish cartoons that lampooned the Prophet in 2005.


Probe


Austrian authorities have opened a probe into Winter's remarks.


"We're investigating the suspicion of incitement to racial hatred," said Manfred Kammerer, spokesman for the public prosecutors' office in Graz.


"Our attention was brought to the case by the media reports."


Kammerer said that Winter would be questioned about her comments "in the next few days", after which it would be decided what steps should be taken.


Winter stood by her provocative remarks Monday and rather warned of a "tsunami of Muslim immigration" that was threatening to engulf Western Europe in an interview with Oesterreich.


Politicians and Christian clerics denounced in unison Winter's comments and called for her resignation.


The deputy head of the Green Party, Eva Glawischnig, said that the remarks were "unprecedented religion-baiting".


Omar Al-Rawi, a Muslim member of the Social Democrat SPOe party, condemned the lack of respect the FP? politician showed for Islam and its prophet.


"The FP?'s Islam-bashing ... is stomach-turning," he told the daily Die Presse.


The head of the Ecumenical Forum of Christian Churches, Hermann Miklas, added his condemnation.


"We as Christians distance ourselves from such remarks, which are contemptuous of other religions," Miklas said.


Sources: Spiegel, IslamOnline (English)

8 comments:

personalrep1 said...

VERY IMPORTANT STATISTICS CONCERNING KORAN

By
Larry Houle
www.godofreason.com
intermedusa@yahoo.com


Muthuswamy cites research on the Koran, conducted by the Center for Political Islam, which illustrates the Islamic focus on conformist behavior and beliefs. According to the Center's analysis of the Koran, the Sira, and the Hadith, only 17% of the Islamic trilogy deals with the words of Allah. The remaining 83% refers to the words and deeds of Mohammed. Of all of the references to "hell" in the trilogy, 6% are for moral failings, while 94% are for the transgression of disagreeing with Mohammed. Statistical analysis of the trilogy revealed that 97% of references to "jihad" relate to war and a mere 3% to the concept of "inner struggle."

About 67% of the Koran of Mecca deals with punishing unbelievers for merely disagreeing with Mohammed. Over 50% of the Koran of Medina deals with hypocrites and jihad against unbelievers. Nearly 75% of the Sira deals with jihad. About 20% of the Hadith by Bukhari is about jihad. The majority of the doctrine is political and it is all violent.

In 4% of the cases, women were superior, in 91% of the cases they were inferior and in 5% they were equal. But there is a big catch. The only way that women are equal is after death on Judgment day, when men and women will be judged on how well they followed the Koran and the Sunna. And guess what? The only way to follow the Koran and the Sunna is to obey men. Equality means obeying men

Woman are superior by being a mother, who must obey her husband. So the perfect woman on Judgment day will be a mother, who obeyed all the men in her life. So really, the women are subordinate to men in 100% of all of the Koran, Hadith and the Sira.

Unknown said...

OT:
Demonstration SIOE Nederland
26 january 2008
1300 hrs
de Dam, Amsterdam

http://sioenederland.wordpress.com/actie/

Anonymous said...

VERY IMPORTANT STATISTICS CONCERNING KORAN

By
Larry Houle
www.godofreason.com---

god=/=reason

fail.

Anonymous said...

It is well known that Muhammad was an epileptic, Mrs. Winter did not invent or 'allege' that, just as he was a child molester, a misogynist and mass-murderer, who wiped out Jewish tribes of Arabia for their wealth and to enslave their women and children.

Susanne Winter said nothing new. She said nothing that is not well documented in the Islamic scriptures. Muhammadans know that. While they are proud of the evil that Muhammad did, they deny it in the face of the kuffar. If an infidel reads from the Koran they go apeshit.

Its a murderous blood-cult, Islam. That's it.

Anonymous said...

Muslims do not deny that Muhammad married Aisha at 6 and consumatted the marriage when she was nine. The Islamic defence is that it was the tradition of the time.
If that is the case then how could Muhammad be a prophet of god? A prophet of god comes to change barbaric traditions. If Muhammad had sex with a six year old it implies it was done with god's approval. Why else did the Islamic god choose him?

Anonymous said...

a 'god' is not necessarily a good 'god'.

The Norse god Loki, for example was anything but good. Moving from polytheistic religion to monotheism does not necessarily mean that the 'one god' is good. Does the god expouse good values or bad? One will need to make up their own mind about the islamic god Allah.

The fact that pedophilia intuitively strikes us as bad should tell us something in this regard. And by the way, human sacrifice was also the practice of the day in many cultures. Doesn't make it right.

Slavery was also once acceptable, but now it is not. The one notable exception to this being Islam, of course.

So look to the evidence. Does it square with your understanding of right, wrong, good, and bad?

Anonymous said...

Adolph Hitler was Austrian - I guess he started out a little right wing - had some racist views about Jews - picked up some followers - his views on Jews became more extreme - he picked up more followers - then murdered Jews and others on an industrial scale - these comments by Ms Winter are unacceptable - what does it tell us about Austria?

Anonymous said...

Muhammad was a muslim - I guess he started out wanting to be a prophet - wanted jews to follow him - they laughed at him - decided to punish them - picked up some followers - his views on Jews became more extreme - he picked up more followers - then murdered Jews and others on an industrial scale - what does it tell us about Islam?