Austria: Muslims refuse to close illegal mosque, say that unbelievers have no authority over them

How long can Austria as it is presently constituted survive with a large and growing population of people who do not accept the authority of the government and law enforcement officials?

“Islamists refuse to clear an illegal mosque,” translated from “Islamisten verweigern Räumung einer illegalen Moschee,” by Manfred Maurer, Exxpress, August 29, 2025 (thanks to Medforth):

An association with ties to a Turkish Islamist sect operates a mosque with a Koran school in a commercial property in Leonding, Upper Austria. Although the municipality has now confirmed the property’s illegality, the landlord must continue his years-long, expensive legal battle with the fundamentalists.

The seemingly never-ending story began 20 years ago with a lease signed by four men with Siegfried Meinhart’s M+M Immo GmbH. The four men wanted to set up a private club on two floors of his commercial property on Welserstraße in Leonding. The landlord only learned by chance that the “Islamic Assembly and Educational Association” was registered there shortly thereafter. From that point on, Meinhart told exxpress, there were repeated arguments with other tenants. The issue was parking. Customers of the companies also renting the space there could no longer park because all the spaces were taken up by association members.

“The kuffar (unbelievers, note) have no say over me and my brothers; we have the right here,” a security company hired by an insurance broker who has since moved out recorded the dispute with a club member in March 2023. Another former tenant reported that after an argument over a blocked exit, “the new VW van in front of the entrance was worth €20,000 less overnight.” The company boss could not prove that the slashed tires, smashed windows, and scratched paint were related to the dispute. He also chose to move out. Such is the case with the wellness oasis professional “Delfin,” which, according to managing director Harald Kogler, relocated in 2010 “not only, but also because of the mosque in the building.”

The economic fiasco due to lost income from premises that could no longer be rented due to the mosque operation was exacerbated by a legal defeat. For years, Meinhart tried in vain to get rid of the unwanted tenant on the grounds that the construction of a mosque in his building had not been agreed upon. The Traun District Court dismissed an eviction suit last January. Among other things, it gave this remarkable reason: “It is incomprehensible why the operation of a Koran school or prayer hall in breach of contract should constitute this ground for termination (according to Section 30 of the Tenancy Law, note).” The legal costs of €40,000 were borne by the rejected plaintiff.

The Leonding Municipal Council, where the case briefly surfaced in May 2023, also saw no problem with the association. According to the minutes of the meeting, an ÖVP inquiry to Mayor Sabine-Jelinek (SPÖ) was answered by the head of the building authority, Thomas Dirngrabner. He reported information from the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism (LVT) that no mosque was operating on Welserstrasse: Dirngrabner: “They (the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, note) observed this, so to speak, but classified it (the association, note) as unproblematic.”

The state police’s clearance certificate is surprising. Because if you had looked really closely at that point, you would have seen that the association with the harmless-sounding name identified itself as part of an Islamist network. In any case, the official name of the association was not displayed at the entrance to the association’s premises. However, a disc-shaped logo with a diameter of about one metre was stuck to the inside of the outer glazing with the Turkish inscription: ‘Ismailaga Avrupa – Oberösterreich Subesi’ (in English: Ismailaga Europe – Upper Austria Branch). In addition, there was the information ‘Darul Kur’an Medresisi’ (= Koran school). This inscription, which was also legible from the outside through the glass wall in mirror writing, was removed immediately after it had been discussed in a hearing before the Traun court. Although photos of it exist, a member of the association who was asked about it denies that such an inscription ever existed here.

A glance inside the clubhouse confirms not only the existence of a mosque – recognisable by its minbar (pulpit), foot washing basin and carpet facing Mecca – but also its close ties to the Turkish Ismailaga sect. On a shelf lies a stack of brochures about the Ismailaga headquarters in the Fatih Carsamba district of Istanbul. One tabletop is designed as a map, apparently showing the sect’s expansion in Europe. Among others, Ismailaga branches in Vienna (Viyana) and Innsbruck are also mentioned.

The bookshelves contain numerous works by Ismailaga founder Mahmoud Ustaosmanoglu, who died three years ago, including his multi-volume epic ‘Sohbetler,’ which conveys an exclusivist doctrine of Sunni Hanafi Islam. Women must wear veils. At Ustaosmanoglu’s funeral, they were unwelcome at the express wish of the deceased. Mahmoud Efendi, as his followers called him, rejected secular education and urged girls in particular to attend Koranic schools instead of secondary schools. The Ismailaga headquarters’ website explains its educational philosophy: ‘Let us adhere to the sciences of Sharia. … May Allah protect us from useless knowledge.’ This website also provides a deep insight into the anti-Semitic thinking of this Muslim Brotherhood. A series of articles lists ‘the ugly characteristics of the Jews’. The Jews are a ‘corrupt people who cause mischief on earth,’ it says. Or: ‘They do not hesitate to plunge all of humanity into misfortune in order to protect their own interests and advantages.’

Brussels apparently did not take a closer look either. This is the only way to explain why the Ismailaga Youth Foundation Yavuz Sultan Selim was able to obtain €31,455 from the Erasmus+ funding pot in 2022 for workshops against discrimination against Muslims, which is not exactly widespread in Turkey. It was only when criticism was voiced in the European Parliament that the European Commission demanded the money back two years ago. To date, however, the EU authority cannot or will not say whether the €31,455 has actually been repaid. Despite repeated inquiries, the only response has been that the money has been reclaimed.

The local Ministry of the Interior is also reluctant to provide information. It is impossible to ascertain whether the Office for the Protection of the Constitution now knows more about this sect’s Austrian connection. Despite repeated inquiries about Ismailaga activities in Austria, the Ministry of the Interior insists that ‘no specific information is provided about organisations or groups and their activities’. Unlike its German counterpart, the Austrian Office for the Protection of the Constitution’s report also makes no mention of this. In Germany, the Ismailaga sect is classified as an anti-constitutional and extremist group, which must be of interest to the Austrian authorities insofar as preachers from Germany were also spotted in Leonding during this year’s Ramadan.

Ultimately, however, it is not these questionable connections that will bring about the demise of this mosque. Following a fire safety inspection carried out in April – under police protection – with the participation of the building authority, what had long been obvious has now been officially confirmed. The municipal building authority recognised ‘that a structure requiring approval is being constructed or has already been constructed without a building permit’.

However, the landlord had to pay up once again.

Formally, he is the perpetrator and must ensure that the situation is restored to a legally compliant state. In order to enforce this against the tenant, Meinhart had to hire an architect and, absurdly, apply for retrospective approval of the mosque construction measures, which had not been agreed with him and which he did not even want. He did this in the hope of receiving a negative decision. This decision has been available since mid-July: on the grounds that the property in question is designated in the zoning plan as a ‘mixed-use area restricted to commercial use’, the submitted project has been rejected. The decision of the municipal building authority states literally: ‘Places of assembly or churches, as well as the house of prayer in question, cannot be subsumed under commercial use and are therefore excluded from this zoning.’

M+M Immo boss Meinhart finally believed he had a legal title in his hands that proved the tenant’s unlawful use of his property and would enable immediate termination. But it’s apparently not quite that simple. The association, whose chairman Yilmaz Gürsel refuses to answer journalists’ questions, is making no move to vacate the premises of its own accord. Friday prayers continue to take place regardless of the official decision.

Meinhart’s previous solicitor believes that an eviction lawsuit that has already been dismissed once cannot simply be reintroduced without any change in the facts of the case. Since the district court had already refused to consider the breach of contract as grounds for termination before the official confirmation was received, a new eviction lawsuit must be substantiated. With a new solicitor, Meinhart, whose doubts about the rule of law are growing along with the costs, now wants to bring this never-ending story to a conclusion.