Political Islam – ‘Salafists think they live like prophets’

Fellhofer on the status quo: “Salafism is spreading in Austria on two levels. One is the online part. This means that social media is often used by Salafists, but also by other Islamist movements, to continuously feed their own followers with statements and also to generate new followers. The other point is that smaller Salafist groups in Austria are trying to gain followers and spread their message via workshops or on the streets.”

Live like in the year 600
When asked how Salafism in general should be classified and how its rules should be interpreted, Fellhofer said: “The Salafists are a marginal group, a niche of Islam. They maintain an ultra-orthodox and strict form of their religion.“ The groups claim to date back to the time of the Prophet of Islam. They want a lifestyle that, in their interpretation, is as it was then.

When asked what time it would be, the head of the documentation center answers: “Around the year 600. This affects various areas of daily life, such as clothing regulations.” Salafism is an extremist movement and offers people who felt they could no longer keep up, an anchor, also when it comes to the rule of law. From the point of view of the Salafists, Islam is the basis for all laws.

Influence of Iran and Turkey
The Imam Ali Center in Vienna-Floridsdorf is also a vehicle for political Islam, where anti-Semitic messages are spread, among other things. States such as Iran or Turkey try to influence the discourse on Islam with their Milli Görüs movement with moderate means. In short, Islamist movements reject democracy and Western life. In general, Islamist and right-wing extremist movements would encourage each other through influence groups, but in doing so also indirectly promote each other and sharpen their profile.

All further details about the development of Islam and Salafism, including the significance of the conflict in the Middle East, can be seen in the video above.