Austria bans symbols of Muslim Brotherhood, along with other terrorist organizations
The logo of the Muslim Brotherhood, along with logos of
other terrorist organizations, was added to the list of symbols banned in
Austria.
Following the rise of Daesh, a coalition government
formed by the conservative ÖVP and the Social Democrats outlawed the use of
symbols associated with Al-Qaeda and Daesh in 2014.
The Symbol Act of 2019 was enacted this year in March by
a right-wing government composed of the right-wing extremist Freedom Party and
the restructured People’s Party headed by Sebastian Kurz.
It extended the ban to the PKK, Hamas, the military wing
of Hezbollah, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Turkish nationalist “Grey Wolves”,
the Croatian fascist Ustashe, and organizations designated as terrorist by EU
legal acts.
The government says that “the symbols and gestures of the
organizations mentioned in the amended law are against the constitution and
contradict our basic democratic values.”
