Muslims in Austria. Historical and Contemporary Experiences
Muslims in Austria. Historical and Contemporary Experiences

Summary/Abstract: Muslims in Austria are a very diverse community with different ethnic and social backgrounds. In this regard their situation is very similar to Muslims in other European countries. However, one peculiarity of Austria is the legal status of Islam in the country, viz. its full recognition as a religious community. This means that the umbrella-organization of Muslims in Austria is a public entity within the Austrian legal system. This is mostly due to a historical process in which Bosnia and Herzegovina played an important part. In 1878 Bosnia and Herzegovina was occupied by the Austrian empire and formally annexed in 1908. Since 1888 Bosnian-Muslim soldiers served in the Austrian imperial army, and since 1891 they had their own Imam in Vienna. In 1891 a female physician was employed for health services because Bosnian-Muslim women had refused to be treated by male doctors. Interestingly, this might have helped to facilitate the acceptance of female students of medicine at the University of Vienna in 1897. Until then, the study of medicine was not possible for women in Austria. The few female physicians who had graduated from foreign universities, mostly in Switzerland, had to apply to the imperial court for recognition of their doctorate.[...]

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