Muslim Brotherhood and extremism in Austria; a report by Mena Research Center

Mena Research Center conducted a report to delve into the legal processing of the raids against sympathizers of the Muslim Brotherhood, known in Austria as “Operation Luxor.”

The name, Operation Luxor, came when special police forces broke into the private apartments of suspected sympathizers of the extremist Muslim Brotherhood in many cities in the Alpine Republic, at the end of 2020, shortly after the November 1 terrorist attack in Vienna.

In the study, Michael Laubsch said the allegation at the time: The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood in Austria was said to have planned attacks and laundered funds together with Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization.

The leading public prosecutor in the case is Johannes Winklhofer, he led the investigations into suspected extremists from the Muslim Brotherhood scene and is now also representing the Republic of Austria in the judicial review of “Operation Luxor”, the study said.

Winklhofer was branded randed as a right-wing conservative populist in the robes of the judiciary, a public prosecutor who makes no secret of his anti-Muslim sentiments, not only by the accused, but also by people who keep throwing the keyword “Islamophobia” into the ring of public debate.

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However, the study confirmed that Winklhofer was known in the past for his investigations into the identitarian movement from the extreme right-wing scene, so he certainly cannot be said to have political right affiliation.

But that doesn’t mean, according to the study, there were no setbacks for the public prosecutor’s office in the investigations against the Muslim Brotherhood in Austria.

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In some cases, it said, the higher regional court in Graz declared the raids illegal, and it was also questioned whether every Muslim Brotherhood can automatically be considered a terrorist, the court questions the fundamental legality of the investigations and dismissed two experts because of the appearance of bias.

The whistleblower who testified to the public prosecutor’s office that the suspects belonged to an extremist group has lost in the first instance in a civil court. According to the court, the man could not provide any evidence, only rumors for his allegations.

He has been sentenced to a fine of several thousand euros for defamation against two suspects.

Witnesses for the defense of the accused were also not believed, including Mouhanad Khorchide, head of the scientific advisory board of the Austrian Documentation Center for Political Islam.

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According to the study, it should first be noted that the so-called “Operation Luxor” was politically exploited at the latest with the Vienna terror night of November 1, 2020.

The results so far in relation to “Operation Luxor” show organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood do not act under the banner of their movement, they are not clearly identified.

Their strategy is recorded in many internal papers by their chief ideologues. This is not only for tactical reasons, how to gain influence most effectively, with politicians, governments, civil society organizations. Rather, it is also a successful measure to stand up to the rule of law when it wants to take action.

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As for the classification of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization in Austria, Luebsch states that since there is no official organization in the name of the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe, as described above, it cannot be classified as terrorist either.

However, Islamic associations and people in Europe who clearly support and propagate the ideology of political Islam are also known.

He said that the security organs, but also politics, must finally become active here, apply existing laws correctly and sustainably in order to curb political Islam in Europe.

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He went on saying that this does not primarily require the suspicion of terrorism. Associations that oppose the basic European order, against the national constitutions, that call for a greater European caliphate with Sharia as the sole legal system, should be banned.

To him, it is just as easy with the existing laws to cut off money flows from dubious sources: extremists with money are more dangerous than those without money!

If police investigations show that an organization of political Islam is connected to terrorist groups, it should also be banned and those responsible must be held accountable, he concluded.

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