ÖVP rejects Ramadan holiday: excitement for cultural identity!

ÖVP rejects Ramadan holiday: excitement for cultural identity!

Vienna, Österreich - The discussion about a state holiday for the Islamic Ramadan Festival causes significant excitement in Vienna. The advance comes from the small party "Social Austria of the Future" (SÖZ), whose state party chairman Hakan Gördü emphasizes the importance of diversity in the city. He sees it as necessary to reflect this variety in the calendar. The Viennese ÖVP, on the other hand, decides the proposal, which leads to a clear conflict between the parties. The Vienna ÖVP boss Karl Mahrer described the proposal as "no integration measure, but a targeted provocation" and declared the traditional holidays of Austria anchored as a festival in a Christian value order. This was supported by Matthias Zauner, the state manager of the ÖVP Lower Austria, who warned that an official holiday for the Islamic Community could be perceived as a threat to cultural identity.

the fasting month Ramadan ended on March 29, and the discussion about a holiday for this event has increased in the past few days. Mahrer argues that such a regulation would promote consolidation of parallel societies and that integration could only succeed if immigrants adapt to the values applicable in Austria. The ÖVP boss also expressed concern about the possibility that the traditions of Austria could be undermined. He emphasized the need to show respect and recognition for the values of the host country, even if he wished the Islamic community a warm Eid Mubarak.

The position of the ÖVP

In addition to the Vienna ÖVP, the state party in Lower Austria also made a clear position. Zauner criticized the demand for a holiday and questioned the motivation of an Islamic party to anchor Ramadan as an official holiday in the calendar. In this demand he saw a surprise that questioned the cultural character of Austria. Zauner made it clear that religious freedom should not serve as a justification for putting any religious demand into state reality.

a cultural dam break?

The debate about a Ramadan holiday is increasingly interpreted in public perception as a cultural-political dam broken. Critics fear that this new regulation would signal that Austria's cultural identity would be watered down. This raises fundamental questions about the integration and the place of religious holidays in a society that traditionally relies on Christian-evening values.