Austria to expel up to 60 imams, close 7 mosques

Excerpt:

Austria said Friday it could expel up to 60 Turkish-funded imams and their families and would shut down seven mosques as part of a crackdown on “political Islam”, triggering fury in Ankara.

“The circle of people possibly affected by these measures -- the pool that we’re talking about -- comprises around 60 imams,” said Interior Minister Herbert Kickl of the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), the junior partner in Austria’s coalition government.

Kickl was referring to imams with alleged links to the Turkish-Islamic Cultural Associations (ATIB) organisation, a branch of Turkey’s religious affairs agency Diyanet.

Kickl added the government suspects them of contravening a ban on foreign funding of religious office holders.

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