Foreign and Integration Minister Sebastian Kurz said Thursday that religious symbols such as the burqa, or full body veils, were issues that needed to be discussed.
"A full body veil is hindering integration,” Kurz, who is
from the centrist People's Party, told a local broadcaster, claiming, however,
that the burqa was "not a religious symbol but a symbol for a counter-society,”
Press TV reported.
Heinz-Christian Strache, head of the popular right-wing
Freedom Party (FPO), said on Thursday that a ban must be imposed on the full
Hijab, saying that Austrians "want to be able to look into people’s faces in
our society.”
About 600,000 Muslims live in Austria, making up seven
percent of the population in the mainly Catholic society. The Islamic Religious
Community says Islam is the second most widely practiced religion in Austria.
The heated debate about banning full Hijab in Austria comes
against the backdrop of anti-refugee sentiments in the country as well as
similar moves in other European states.
France, which has an estimated five million Muslims, the
largest Muslim minority in Europe, introduced a ban on full-face niqab and
burqa veils in public in 2010.
Muslim and rights campaigning groups have repeatedly
protested against the ban in France, calling it unconstitutional, divisive and
Islamophobic.
Some Austrian politicians have voiced concern over the
potential move, saying banning full Hijab in all circumstances may run counter
to the constitution. Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka, a member of the
People's Party, said a partial ban as when driving a car, or when crossing the
border or at demonstrations could be less problematic in terms of
constitutional law.