Why is Austria coming after the Muslim Brotherhood?

The Austrian authorities’ moves towards banning ‘political Islam’ and criminalising the Brotherhood are ill-conceived.

In late May, the Austrian government published the addresses of more than 620 mosques and Muslim associations in Austria. According to the integration ministry, its purpose was “to fight political ideologies, not religion”. This was the latest in a series of moves the Austrian government has made to fight “political Islam”, which it has identified as one of the main threats the country faces. In the process, the Austrian authorities have started targeting the real and imagined Muslim Brotherhood. Despite various expert analyses claiming the organisation does not pose a terror threat, its long non-militant history, and conclusions by other Western governments that it does not merit a terror designation, the Austrian government perceives it as a national security threat.