Austria passes controversial reforms to Islam law banning foreign funding

Austria's parliament adopted legislation on Wednesday amending laws on Muslim organisations to ban foreign sources of financing and require imams to be able to speak German.

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The new law aims to promote what conservative Integration Minister Sebastian Kurz called an "Islam of European character", by muting the influence of foreign Muslim nations and organisations, but giving Austrian Muslims more legal security in practising their faith. Austria's previous "law on Islam" dates from 1912, after the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina by the Austro-Hungarian empire. More...