Experts Reject Anti-Islam Claims, Highlight Muslims’ Positive Role in Vienna

Experts Reject Anti-Islam Claims, Highlight Muslims’ Positive Role in Vienna
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A video by the U.S.-based RAIR Foundation claiming Vienna will become a “Muslim-majority city” within two generations has been widely criticized by Austrian researchers and community leaders for spreading misleading, alarmist narratives, as reported by Shia Waves Agency.

Educational data show that 41.2% of Vienna’s public-school students identify as Muslim, making them the largest student religious group, while Christians account for 34.5% and 23% report no religious affiliation. Experts emphasize that school demographics cannot predict the city’s long-term religious composition, which depends on secularization, intermarriage, migration, and other social factors.

Analysts also highlight the positive contributions of Vienna’s Muslim population, including active participation in the workforce, civic engagement, youth programs, and entrepreneurship. Officials stress that diversity is a defining feature of Vienna and that Muslim communities are integral to its social, cultural, and economic life.

Municipal representatives and civil society groups have dismissed the RAIR Foundation claims as politically motivated, underlining the city’s commitment to inclusion and interfaith harmony.