Unknown perpetrators have spray-painted Islamist slogans on two central monuments in Graz. Both the Landhaus, the seat of the Styrian parliament, and the St Mary’s Statue were spray-painted with the words “Allah-Akbar”.
“Graz has long had the reputation of being the centre of Austrian Islamism. Half of all mosques in Graz are classified as radical by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The acts of vandalism at two symbolic places in the centre of Graz are the consequences of years of denying the problem. For years, the Freedom Party has been demanding that the problem finally to be tackled at its roots. Islamist structures must be consistently dismantled in Austria and immigration from Islamic countries reduced to an absolute minimum,” said Graz Deputy Mayor and Freedom Party chairman Mario Eustacchio.
“The closure of Islamist mosques in Graz that was announced by the Minister of the Interior after the terrorist attack in Vienna has not happened yet. The warnings of the security authorities must finally be taken seriously! There must be an end to further ignoring the justified cries for help by the authorities. The increasingly self-confident appearance of Islamists in public spaces must finally be stopped,” concluded Eustacchio.