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As Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (VP) said at a press conference, more than 60 house searches were carried out in four federal states – Krnten, Styria, Lower Austria and Vienna – as part of the operation now known as “Luxor “. The researchers focused on apartments, residential houses, business premises and clubs. 30 suspects were asked to be questioned immediately. According to Nehammer, the Styrian State Office for the Protection of the Constitution was in charge together with the Graz Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The interior minister called the Muslim Brotherhood “deeply dangerous”. They try to undermine democracy, “introduce Sharia, fight against the fundamental freedoms that are dear to us.” It is, therefore, the suspicion of financing terrorism, the formation of a terrorist or criminal organization and money laundering. The planned action was already known the week before. Initially it was called Operation “Ramses”.
“No connection to a terrorist attack”
The prosecution stressed that the raids “are not related to the terrorist attack in Vienna on November 2.” The action was preceded by “extensive and intensive investigations lasting more than a year” by the State Office responsible for the Protection of the Constitution and the Fight Against Terrorism (LVT) Styria together with LVT Vienna. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Fight against Terrorism (BVT) and the LVT Krnten and Lower Austria also participated.
“Roots of political Islam shortened”
Interior Minister Karl Nehammer (VP) said that with the raids on associations and societies said to belong to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, “the roots of political Islam have been shortened” and thanked the emergency services. The demonstrations of 30 suspects for questioning, in the course of raids in eastern and southern Austria, are not arrests, the Graz prosecutor said. The actions had been in the works for more than a year. It was noted that the measures are not directed against Muslims or Islam.
The Muslim Brotherhood is not a religious community, but rather advocates political extremism on religious grounds. When asked, the Graz Prosecutor’s Office (StA) was quite united in view of the sensitive issue. Certain places or clubs that were the target of the raids were not named. It was not indicated whether the persons detained for questioning were men or women. There was also no information on more details such as nationality. The questioning of people who were detained by the police in three federal states and Vienna will likely take place at the appropriate offices, he said. It must be cultural and other associations, some have a house of prayer or a mosque attached.
Several hundred officers on duty
According to the Styrian police, several hundred officials from across Austria were involved in the action. It started at 5 a.m. In addition to the regular units, there were also special forces such as service dog trainers, criminal police, and people from the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Electronic devices such as mobile phones and computers were seized, but also simple documents. In Styria there were house searches in Graz, the Graz area and in the Liezen district. The action was near completion around 8:30 am, according to a police spokesman.
The individuals and associations had been the subject of investigations for more than a year, the prosecutor said. The searches were carried out in strict compliance with Covid-19 protection measures.
The only specific information from the StA concerned “associations and companies suspected of belonging to and supporting the terrorist organizations Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.” There is suspicion of the terrorist group, terrorist financing, subversive ties, criminal organization and money laundering. The raids took place in the largest cities in the N, Styria and Krnten, as well as in Vienna. They had nothing to do with the terrorist attack in Vienna exactly a week ago. The APA was informed that the action would have taken place on Monday morning.
“Radical Islamist Association, Massively Anti-Semitic”
According to the StA, the Muslim Brotherhood is a global, radical Islamist and massively anti-Jewish association whose main objective is to establish an Islamic state (caliphate) based on Islamic law (Sharia) in all countries of the world. The Muslim Brotherhood appears in Europe and North America under the pretext of renouncing violence to achieve their goals. However, according to research carried out so far, he is in contact with terrorist organizations and has close ideological and financial relationships with radical Islamist groups in the Syrian-Iraqi civil war.
According to the results of the investigation so far, the representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood in Austria, regardless of their countries of origin, support the activities of the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, which was founded in 1987 as a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas’s goal is the destruction of the state of Israel and the establishment of an Islamic state with Jerusalem as its capital. Therefore, this Hamas strategy should be seen as part of the overall Muslim Brotherhood strategy, Monday’s broadcast said.
The Graz prosecutor emphasized that the action was not directed against Islam. Rather, the measures implemented should also serve to protect Muslims, whose religion is being misused to spread unconstitutional ideologies. “The objectives of the Muslim Brotherhood and the totalitarian political system for which it fights, which guarantees neither the sovereignty of the people nor the principles of freedom and equality, are in line with the basic principles of the constitution of the Republic of Austria and the Austrian society, as well as with the western understanding of democracy in general Coexistence, equality between men and women and the political order are incompatible ”, stated the StA.
“Public relations”
In addition to the Minister of the Interior, Karl Nehammer, the Minister of Integration Susanne Raab (both vice-president) thanked the emergency services. “With this coup against the Muslim Brotherhood, we take seriously the fight against radical extremist ideologies. We do not allow extremist ideas to spread in Austria and we will continue to take action against them,” he stressed in a written statement. “Because from an integration point of view, it is also dangerous if the influence of political Islam spreads from abroad through associations such as the Muslim Brotherhood to Austria,” Raab said. He spoke of “hostile ties to the state that want to exploit and subvert our democracy.”
