“Austrian Muslim women have indeed made impressive political and social strides,” said Baghajati.

By Ahmed Al-Matboli, IOL Correspondent

VIENNA, February 14 (IslamOnline.net) – Austrian Muslim women stood up to be counted, feeling, like men, duty bound to defend their religion and clear misconceptions about Islam in the western media.

Reinforcing the eminent status they enjoy under Islam, they established last month the Muslim Women Forum in Austria (FMFO) as an affiliate to the Islamic Religious Authority (IGG) to get the message across.

“Austrian Muslim women have indeed made impressive political and social strides whether individually or through the IGG,” Amina Baghajati, the media spokeswoman for the nascent forum and one of its founding members, told IslamOnline.net.

“We are trying our best to defend the image of Islam throughout Europe, asserting that freedom and equality are inalienable rights enshrined in Islam for women.”

She added that the IGG’s media department monitors media and newspaper reports about Muslim women in Austria and frequently responds to clear misconceptions.

Of the nearly 400,000 Muslims in Austria, 15,000 are women, according to Baghajati.

Muslims make up some 8 per cent of the country’s eight million population.

Credit for a successful and a fruitful 2004 does not only go to Muslim men in Austria; Muslim women have, in effect, weighed heavily in that regard.

Daunting Challenges

FMFO president Andrea Saleh said that the fledging group is aimed at living up to the daunting challenges facing Islam in Europe and in the West alike.

“Clearing stereotypes about Muslim women, that they are downtrodden under Islam, necessitates engaging in a constructive dialogue with the other,” she said.

Launched on January 29, the forum is based on the Graz Declaration, which was issued by a conference of imams and Muslim preachers in June 2003.

The declaration basically underlined the fact that Islam rejects all forms of bigotry and extremism while defending democracy and human rights.

The forum is scheduled to start its activities on February 19 with a ceremony marking the New Hijri Year.

Chief among its goals are cementing Muslim women’s integration into society, helping women activists work in concert, clearing stereotypes about Islam and providing advice on domestic violence and western traditions.

Matrimonial service, spare-time programs and interfaith dialogue are also high on the agenda.

Islam, which was officially acknowledged in Austria in 1908, is considered the second religion in the country after Catholic Christianity.

A law issued in 1867, which guaranteed respect for all religions, gave Muslims the right to establish mosques and practice their religion in Austria.

There are 76 mosques and prayer rooms across the country, including 53 in Vienna alone, according to recent estimates.