The Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office has been officially investigating a Viennese imam from Vienna’s Meidling district for incitement since March. Following several Facebook posts, the man resigned from his position in mid-February. On Friday, it was announced that the indictment has been filed.
The investigation against the imam has been ongoing for several months, and now the charges against him have been officially concluded, court spokeswoman Christina Salzborn confirmed. The imam of the Assalam Mosque at Schöpfwerk in Vienna-Meidling was noticed by law enforcement authorities in February for incitement and anti-Semitism. “Oh Allah, defeat the Jews and support the Mujahideen who are fighting for Allah in Palestine,” he wrote on Facebook.
The Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office has concluded that the 61-year-old publicly incited hatred against Jews. The man will appear before the Regional Court on October 8.
Facebook profile now deleted.
Elsewhere, it was even said that Jews were a “despicable people,” “criminals,” and “bloodthirsty people” who only understood “the language of blood and murder.” The man’s Facebook profile can no longer be found.
IGGÖ Imposes Imam’s Activity Ban
The Islamic Religious Community (IGGÖ) described the statements as an “unacceptable reaction to the Middle East conflict” and imposed a ban on the imam’s activity. This ban is independent of the criminal investigation, an IGGÖ spokesperson said in March regarding the incident.
The Assalam Mosque is primarily attended by people of Egyptian descent. It has been part of the IGGÖ since 2016. No problematic content was found in the sermons delivered there. In addition to the man now under investigation by the public prosecutor’s office, two other imams preached there and are still active.
