ஒஸ்திரியாவில் இஸ்லாத்தில் புகழ்

உலகம் முழுவதும் குறிப்பாக மேற்கத்திய நாடுகளில் இஸ்லாத்திற்கு எதிரான பரப்புரைகள் செய்யப்பட்டு வரும் வேளையில் ஐரோப்பிய நாடான ஆஸ்திரியா இஸ்லாமிய சட்டத்தின் 100-வது ஆண்டு விழாவை கொண்டாடியுள்ளது.

வரலாறு நெடுகிலும் முஸ்லிம் சமூகத்துடன் நல்லுறவை பேணி வரும் ஆஸ்திரியா மற்ற மதங்களை பின்பற்றுபவர்களுக்கு அளிக்கப்படும் அனைத்து உரிமைகளையும் முஸ்லிம்களுக்கும் அளித்துள்ளது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

அரை மில்லியன் முஸ்லிம்கள் வாழும் ஆஸ்திரியாவில் ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க மதத்திற்கு அடுத்து பின்பற்றப்படும் இரண்டாவது பெரிய மார்க்கம் இஸ்லாம் என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது. மேலும் இவ்விழாவில் இஸ்லாமிய அறிஞர்களும் மற்றும் அரசில் உயர்பதவி வகிக்கும் மூத்த அதிகாரிகள் கலந்து கொண்டனர் என்பதும் குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

The Austrian government has celebrated with its Muslim community the 100th anniversary of issuing a law that recognized Islam as an official law in the European country.

"Austria is a model in Europe in dealing with Islam, but the Austrian Muslims are also a European model," Omar Al-Rawi, a Vienna City councilor said on Tuesday.
Al-Rawi comments came as the Austrian government organized ceremonies celebrating 100 years on recognizing Islam as an official religion in the country.
The law gives Muslims the same rights as other officially recognized religions in Austria, such as Catholicism, Lutheranism, Judaism and Buddhism.
Described as unique in Europe by members of the Austrian Islamic Community, the law also guarantees Muslims in the country wide-ranging rights including religious education in state schools, administration of internal affairs and public worship.
It was brought into force in 1912, under the Habsburg Emperor Franz Joseph, as a result of Austria's annexation of Bosnia-Hercegovina.
It began as an attempt to integrate Muslim Bosnian soldiers into the Habsburg Army, and referred at first just to adherents of the "Hanafi rite of Islam".
Later on, the law was expanded to include Sunni and Shiite Muslims, who are now all represented by the Austrian Islamic Community.
Marking the anniversary, senior members of the Austrian government and the country's Islamic Community leaders attended a mosque ceremony at the weekend.
At another ceremony in Vienna's neo-Gothic town hall, Austria's President Heinz Fischer called for peaceful and respectful relations.
The head of Austria's Islamic Community, Fuat Sanac, described the law as an example for the rest of Europe.
He added that Islam in Austria was seen by most people as an enrichment, not as a danger.
Austrian Muslims are estimated at about half a million or nearly 6 percent of the European country's 8 million population.
In Vienna, Islam is the second-largest religious grouping, after Roman Catholicism.
About 60,000 children take part in Muslim religious education classes in Austrian state schools, according to the Islamic Community.
In 2007, Austria’s Muslims have championed a nation-wide campaign to introduce Prophet Muhammad (blessing of God upon him and his progeny) 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.