Press Release
Prevention of Headscarves; Direct Attack on our Islamic Identity
(Translated)

 On Wednesday, 4 April 2018, the Austrian Government agreed in a Cabinet meeting to ban headscarves (Khimar) for girls in kindergarten and primary schools.

According to the Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz, "The veiling of small children should definitely have no place in our country, and preventing it is a necessary step to secure the integration process." So, a suitable draft is to be prepared by the beginning of summer. The Chairman of the Austrian Freedom Party and Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache considered it an important measure to combat "political Islam" and suggested that the Turkish model should be imitated and extend prevention to higher schools and universities.

This new law, which passed the inventory phase, according to the government, is another aspect of this exclusionary mentality, which works to cleanse Europe of any belief or model of life emanating from another civilization. In a dialogue on the Hangar-7 program on Servus TV, Kurz and Strache spoke in harmony about the threat to Western civilization from Muslims who migrated to Europe. Both have clearly affirmed that alongside the Constitution no civilized criterion is allowed other than one subjective criterion. This emphasis on the civilization sphere, the basis which precedes and paves the way for the political sphere, reflects the extent to which efforts in the integration issue are being exacerbated. Following the principle of the former German interior minister, Chile, they regard the mere presence of Muslims in Western societies as an attack on their own lifestyle. In doing so, they deepen the process of community alienation and polarization.

After the banning of the Niqab (face veil) in 2017, the "Republic of the Alps" tightened the policy of integration, intervening again and directly in how Muslims implement the provisions of their religion. The most important thing is that the Austrian state interferes with these procedures in the special practice of an Islamic rite and does not stop in the most subjective matters of the human being: his Awrah. It seems that the concrete fact that the provisions of the clothing do not represent any structural rules that can lift or abolish the existing statute is totally not considered. Austria wants Muslims to be forcibly integrated into the Constitution and Western civilization, and this in the cultural and civilizational framework in which the child arises. It is thus entirely aligned in the circle of authoritarian States.

This bill, which is planned by the Kurz’s government, makes the headscarf--as was the case with the Niqab - a fictitious symbol of a mentality to be stigmatized as "extremely dangerous". In the past, the wearing of the Niqab was portrayed--intentionally--as being an expression of subversive and conspiratorial behavior that threatens peace in society. Now, this malicious and deceitful labeling of the law on prevention of the headscarf as the "child protection law" suggests that a mere commitment to Islam is a serious thing. And if they allow it, then it is for adults only!

﴿وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ لَا تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ قَالُوا إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُصْلِحُونَ * أَلَا إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ الْمُفْسِدُونَ وَلَكِنْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ﴾

“And when it is said to them, "Do not cause corruption on the earth," they say, "We are but reformers." * Unquestionably, it is they who are the corrupters, but they perceive [it] not.” ]Al-Baqara: 11-12[.

The basis for all the concerned is the same logic of the principle of forced assimilation, which can be altered and interpreted as needed to other dimensions and more severe measures, as publicly stated by members of the Austrian Government. In light of this, it is a matter of time until other aspects of the Islamic life are attacked.

Hizb ut Tahrir warns the Muslim community urgently of underestimating the importance of the current developments and of closing eyes to the next hurricane. It is time to realize the destructive nature of this integration principle and that it represents a direct attack on our Islamic identity, especially on the identity of our sons and daughters. It is also time to design an alternative and influential political project, and to introduce this project in a unified manner in the current arena of dialogue, in order to preserve our lives and our Islamic identity in the face of a despicable policy of annihilation.

﴿وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ وَاحْذَرْهُمْ أَنْ يَفْتِنُوكَ عَنْ بَعْضِ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ﴾

“and do not follow their inclinations and beware of them, lest they tempt you away from some of what Allah has revealed to you.”]Al-Maida: 49[

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir

in German-Speaking Countries