Lower Austria: Scientists criticize the composition of the advisory board for the Islam monitoring center

Among the signatories are the emeritus professor of Islamic studies Rüdiger Lohlker, the religious scholars Lukas K. Pokorny (University of Vienna) and Franz Winter (University of Graz), as well as Martin Rötting, head of the Center for Intercultural Theology and the Study of Religions at the University of Salzburg. The religious scholar Ernst Fürlinger from the Danube University Krems and theology professor Regina Polak also signed the letter.

The advisory board, by contrast, includes the Viennese secondary school principal Christian Klar, the director of the "Center for the Study of Political Islam," Eleonore Witt-Dörring, labor law expert Wolfgang Mazal, and the Lower Austrian education director Karl Fritthum. Klar and Witt-Dörring were reportedly nominated by the FPÖ and regularly give lectures at the FPÖ-affiliated Freedom Education Institute (Freiheitliches Bildungsinstitut).

The criticism in detail

According to APA, Klar is currently facing disciplinary proceedings because he had opened his school for filming by the Russian propaganda broadcaster RT. According to the researchers, Witt-Dörring represents a Czech think tank that is known above all for "grobe Interpretationen des Islam" ("gross interpretations of Islam").

In the open letter, which was distributed via Kathpress, the researchers formulated their concern: "alles dafür tun, dass ein konstruktives gleichberechtigtes Zusammenleben in der religiös und weltanschaulich pluralen Gesellschaft gelingt, und nicht ein gefährliches Glutnest eines pauschalen feindlichen Misstrauens gegen die 'Anderen' geschürt wird". They appealed to those responsible to "auf der wissenschaftlichen Qualität des Gremiums zu bestehen und damit eine seriöse Tätigkeit zu gewährleisten".

The response from the Governor's office

The researchers called for "ein neuer Anlauf" ("a new attempt") at the personnel composition and advocated for a factual examination of anti-democratic tendencies: "Eine kritische Auseinandersetzung mit demokratiefeindlichen und extremistischen Strömungen innerhalb des Islam - wie auch in allen Religionen - ist wichtig. Aber sie muss sachlich, differenziert und mit wissenschaftlicher Expertise erfolgen".

The Governor's office rejected the criticism in response to an APA inquiry. One is "Für fachliche Diskussionen stehe die Beobachtungsstelle an der Fachhochschule Wiener Neustadt jeder und jedem offen". At the same time, the office emphasized that the facility is not about researching Islam: "Es geht bei der Beobachtungsstelle Radikaler Islam nicht darum, den Islam zu erforschen, sondern radikale, demokratiefeindliche, freiheitsfeindliche und frauenfeindliche Strömungen frühzeitig zu erkennen und zu bekämpfen. Dafür muss man nicht den Islam studiert haben. Dafür muss man aber wissen, was wir schützen wollen: unsere Demokratie, unsere Freiheit und unsere Werte".

Governor Mikl-Leitner told APA that the documentation center is not about Islamic research: "Es [geht] der Dokumentationsstelle nicht darum, den Islam zu erforschen, sondern radikale, demokratiefeindliche, freiheitsfeindliche und frauenfeindliche Strömungen frühzeitig zu erkennen und zu bekämpfen." She stated verbatim: "muss man nicht den Islam studiert haben."

Reactions from the state government

Deputy Governor Udo Landbauer (FPÖ) also defended the facility. The scientists' criticism brings "im Kampf gegen den radikalen Islam keinen Schritt weiter," Landbauer said. The monitoring center is an important instrument for recognizing radicalization early — the Governor's office had declared in this regard: "Wer Radikalisierung erst dann ernst nimmt, wenn der Staatsschutz eingreifen muss, handelt zu spät".

The signatories appeared in the letter not only as scholars, but also "als demokratische BürgerInnen" and appealed especially to the ÖVP as a Christian-social party to advocate for the scientific quality of the advisory board. The debate over the future direction of the monitoring center is thus likely to continue in Lower Austria.

The University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt and its Institute for Security Research provide the organizational framework for the monitoring center. What concrete steps the state government will take following the open letter was initially unclear. According to APA, a response from the ÖVP at the state level, which was directly addressed in the letter, was still pending on Tuesday.