Vienna: Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has promised a crackdown on radical Islam, and on Friday, he announced that his government would shut down seven mosques and could expel dozens of foreign-funded imams from the country.
"Just the beginning": Austria's Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache.
Photo: APAt least one of the mosques the government will close is said to be linked to Turkish nationalists, and the six others are run by a group called the Arab Religious Community.
"This is just the beginning," far-right Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache said. The move invokes a 2015 law banning religious groups from getting foreign funding, and the government suspects that as many as 60 imams may need to leave the country.
More than 600,000 Muslims live in Austria, which is home to almost 9 million people. Many of them are of Turkish descent.
The conservative coalition government in Austria gained support as refugees and migrants poured into Europe in recent years. The government has since promised to restrict immigration into the country.