Austrian Cultural Forum NYC

By examining the positions of contemporary artists from the Middle East, Europe and New York, this exhibition intends to be a trans-cultural exploration of the numerous approaches to the ideas that surround both the literal and, as importantly, metaphorical meaning of the veil, and includes works in a variety of media such as video, installation, photography, and painting.

Producer Andreas Stadler
Curators David Harper and Martha Kirszenbaum (New York), Karin Meisel (Vienna)
Exhibition Coordination Elisabeth Haider
Exhibition Assistance Natascha Boojar, Anne Marie Butler, Johanna Menne, Kerstin Schuetz-Mueller, Maria Simma


The Austrian Cultural Forum New York is generously supported by Austrian Airlines, Botstiber Foundation, RZB Finance, The Austrian Wines, Zumtobel Staff, Times Square Alliance

Special Thanks to Stefan Bidner, Farid Hafez, Heller Gallery, Karen Hopkins, Gerald Matt, Zeyba Rahman, Leila Taghinia-Milani

ISLAM IN AUSTRIA
By Mouhanad Khorchide

As the first European country to have recognized Islam as a religious community, Austria takes a special position in the early recognition and institutionalization of Islam within Europe. The legal recognition has a long history dating back to the 19th century. More than half a million Muslim Bosnians came under Austrian rule as a consequence of the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1908. The annexation led to an expansion of the 1874 Recognition Act in 1912. The 1912 Islam Law recognized adherents of the Hanafi school of Islam as a religious community. In other words, they had the same equality of rights as the other twelve religious communities recognized in Austria.

In 1979, Islam acquired full recognition as a public institution and the Islamic Community in Austria was founded. From that point forward, this entity served as the liaison for the Austrian government in all affairs concerning Islam. In addition to the Hanafi school acknowledged as early as 1912, the recognition of this status also extended to the other three Sunni schools of law (Shafi'i, Maliki, and Hanbali) and to the Shiites (Twelver, Zaidi, and Ismaili). The first mosque was officially inaugurated in 1979 as well.

The recognition of Islam in Austria permits the Islamic Community to provide Islamic religious instruction in public schools. Classes have been held in German since the 1982/83 academic year. The Islamic Community is responsible for content and for appointing teachers, but the teachers' salaries are paid with public funds. In 2007, some 47,000 students participated in these classes, which were taught by about 350 instructors at approximately 2,700 institutions.

There are several private Islamic kindergartens and schools in Austria where Islamic subjects are taught alongside the Austrian curriculum. But these schools can hardly be considered a real alternative to public schools because they often become holding tanks for the children of socially underprivileged migrant workers. This fact often stands in the way of the children's social mobility and opportunities for advancement.

According to the 2001 census, 338,998 persons in Austria, or 4.2% of the total population, call themselves Muslim. The Austrian statistical office said there were approximately 400,000 Muslims in the country by 2006, and estimates that the number will rise to 500,000 by 2011. The majority of Muslims in Austria (36.3%) are Turkish citizens. The second largest group is made up of Muslims with Austrian citizenship (28.3%). This latter group primarily consists of Muslims of Turkish origin who have been naturalized. The proportion of Muslims with Bosnian citizenship is 19.1%. Only a small percentage of Muslims in Austria are from other countries, such as Iran, Egypt, Tunisia, and Pakistan.

In addition to ethnic variety, there is confessional variety among Austrian Muslims. Some 90% are Sunni and 10% are Shiite. In recent years, progressive Islam, which in contrast to traditional forms centers on human values rather than dogmas and laws, has been steadily gaining adherents. It promotes an open understanding of Islam that gives religious Muslims a theoretical base to critically reflect on traditions that are not reconcilable with modern values such as human rights, pluralism, and democracy.

In the early 1970s migrant workers were brought into Austria to ease the labor shortage in the job market. Among them were many Muslims from Turkey and the former Yugoslavia. Due to their low educational status, many of them found it hard to learn the German language, and as a consequence these migrant workers' children had a hard time integrating. They received barely any support at home and often had to interrupt their education early in order to find work and support their families financially. But more recent studies indicate that there has been a change for the better from one generation to the next. Members of the second generation are advancing in education and in the job market.

Despite the social challenges in education and employment, the institutional recognition of Islam and the equal rights of Muslims in Austria form an important basis for the integration of Muslims in society. The Muslims consider this recognition an opportunity for their religious development and for the integration of the European dimension in their religious life.