The Islamic Community of Bosniaks in Austria Plans to build a cultural center with a mosque in Bruck an der Mur, a town in Styria. The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) has opposed the project, Kronen Zeitung reports.
The community has launched a fundraising campaign on Facebook for the facility, which, as they stated, should be a place for prayer, classes for children and youth, and cultural activities.
A plot of land on Schleppbahngasse is mentioned as the location, near the intersection by the regional hospital. According to land registries, an entrepreneurial family whose corporate group is bankrupt owns the parcel. The purchase has not been finalized. Therefore, it is still unclear whether the community will even be able to purchase the land.
Representatives of the community addressed the city authorities in early summer. At the time, the discussion was about a cultural center, without concrete details regarding financing and the start of construction. According to Austrian reports, the city administration only learned that a larger mosque in the shape of a bridge could be built from the Facebook post.
Philipp Könighofer, an FPÖ member of the Styrian Provincial Parliament, said that there was an intense discussion about the plans at the meeting with citizens on Thursday.
“The uncertainty and irritation among the population are great, and a great many questions are arising,” Könighofer said, announcing that the party will oppose the construction of the large mosque by all legal and political means.
Raphael Pensl, the Deputy Mayor of Bruck and a member of the FPÖ, is also against the project. He is against the size of the building.
“A building of these dimensions would change the historically developed appearance of the town and landscape,” said Pensl.
Bosniaks in Bruck already have their own džemat (congregation). According to data from the Islamic Community in Austria, the congregation’s headquarters are located at Wiener Straße 92, and the new facility would serve as a larger center for the religious and cultural needs of the community.
