Why Austria's election outcome is bad for Muslims, and what happens next

Europe continues to trend right following the recent victory of the Freedom Party or the FPO in Austria. The party, which won nearly 30 percent of last's week vote, has Nazi roots and its leaders espouse anti-Muslim, anti-immigration, racist views.

Domestically, FPO's leadership in government threatens to upend multiculturalism in the country. On the foreign policy front, officials are likely to further fracture European Union unity on issues such as Israel, with FPO expressing unwavering support for the country as it commits crimes against humanity.

The FPO's election win was lauded by other far-right leaders who have gained traction in Europe.

In a post on X, France's far-right National Rally (RN) head Marine Le Pen said, "After the Italian, Dutch and French elections, this tidal wave which supports the defence of national interests, the safeguarding of identities and the resurrection of sovereignties, confirms the triumph of the people everywhere."

At home, the FPO's win marks a problem for local Muslims, who constitute less than 10 percent of the population. For them, years of systemic discrimination in employment, Austrian society and politics are likely about to get worse.

History of discrimination

Anti-Muslim sentiments in Austria predate the rise of the FPO in Austrian politics. The diverse community of Turks, Moroccans and Bosniaks have endured years of government-sanctioned demonisation policies and legislation that is overtly discriminatory and regressive in nature.

Take the FPO's predecessor, the Austrian People's Party, as an example. Led by Sebastian Kurz who is unabashedly Islamophobic, the OVP in 2015 abolished Austria's Islam Act of 1912 which had granted official recognition to the religion.

The Kurz government replaced it with a new law called the Islam Act of 2015, which resulted in increased surveillance and scrutiny of Austrian Muslims from security agencies in the name of "counterterrorism measures."

Kurz also sought to close mosques in 2018 and successfully implemented a headscarf ban in 2019 in primary schools, on the pretext of fighting "political Islam."

Discrimination in Austria against Muslims however, is not limited to legislations and policy measures alone.

Societal problems

For years, Austrian Muslims have witnessed workplace discrimination, unequal treatment and online hate speech against them from far-right bigots over their beliefs.

According to the country's own Documentation Centre on Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Racism's annual report, in 2023 alone, Austria recorded the highest number of hate incidents involving Muslims, which ranged in form from dehumanisation of students to harrowing comparisons being drawn between Muslims and animals online.

Also, in schools, anti-Muslim incidents have been reported by teachers, parents and pupils while recent online discourse has involved linking the Muslim community with anti-Semitism.

For the FPO, the year 2024 was a ripe opportunity. Its victory was anchored in support from disillusioned youth and middle aged Austrians reeling from economic stagnation in 2024.

The FPO capitalised on prevailing public anger by campaigning at a time when over half of the Austrian population polled against immigration, particularly from Muslim countries.

This gave it a free hand to promote fallacies, including portraying Muslim immigrants and asylum seekers as being a drain on state resources and hence, a problem to be tackled.

What lies ahead

During the post 9/11 era, the FPO stated that Islam is incompatible with Western values.

In a worrying sign for Muslims, an FPO-led government will likely carry on with its post-9/11 fixation with Islam.

It is the same party which successfully pushed to ban full-face veils in 2017 and stated in 2008 that the legal recognition of Islam should be restricted to Bosnian or white Muslims who have lived in Austria for a longer time instead of newer immigrants.

This means that in many ways, the Muslims of Austria will now have to deal with a more extreme version of Sebastian Kurz's Austrian People's Party, which is evident in the FPO's 2024 election agenda.

Countering "political Islam" and encouraging remigration or the returning of people of migrant origin to their initial destinations are recurring themes.

With the FPO's victory, white supremacy, xenophobia and overt racism will now become deeply entrenched in the Austrian political system.

This means that Muslims could be subjected to draconian policies such as shutting down of mosques, criminalisation of pro-Palestinian voices and outlawing the distribution of free copies of the Quran.

Way forward

The key to preventing Austria's descent into fascism is to address the root causes of public discontent over the economy. Currently, many believe in misguided information that Muslims are responsible for declining economic growth, joblessness and terrorism.

Instead, officials should highlight how Austrian Muslims have actually contributed to the development of the economy, as corroborated by studies published by the country’s own International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, stating that migration has an overall positive impact on the economy.

Advocacy efforts can also be conducted by Muslim organisations such as the Islamic Religious Community in Austria, which represent Muslim interests. With effective, factual evidence, a more informed and positive perspective on Muslims could prevail in Austrian society, which undercuts the bigotry and Islamophobia promoted by parties such as the FPO.

It's important however to remember that Austria is not in a club of one. Systemic racism, Islamophobia and demonisation of Muslim communities is a trend prevalent across Europe, including in France and the Netherlands.

Figures such as Marine Le Pen who is unabashedly against Islam and Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders, whose PVV party leads the Dutch government, continue to enjoy considerable popularity in those countries.

To tackle this surge in fascism, lessons can be drawn from the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa and the fight for civil rights among Black Americans in the United States.

In these cases, grassroots-level movements consisting of civil society/ human rights organisations, feminists, students and anti-status quo parties such as the Social Democrats and the Greens in Austria are the key to addressing toxic ideologies such as Islamophobia.

History is replete with examples of how partnerships between civil society organisations and anti-fascists have successfully abolished prevalent racism and discrimination. This has to happen in Austria too, as Muslims alone cannot upend fascism in the absence of support from other groups.

One sign of hope for the Muslim community involves the thousands of Austrians protesting in the aftermath of the FPO's victory.

They can build on current agitation against the status quo. This however, heightens the risk of them being seen as "anti-national," "non-Austrian" and "extremist" by the ruling government.

What is undeniable is that with the far-right FPO in power in Austria, Muslims will witness a continuation of systemic discrimination that that they have endured for years.