Austrian police probe incident at Islamic center

By Volkan Meral

VIENNA (AA) - A “distressing” stunt carried out by right-wing activists in Austria, targeting the country’s Muslim community, has been condemned.

A group known as the Identitarian Movement claimed to be behind the incident on Sunday where around half a dozen activists claimed on the roof of an Islamic center in the city of Linz and unfurled a provocative banner.

Images on the group’s social media page reveal a banner in German which reads: “How many dead? Deport Islamists!”

The incident took place at 8 p.m. local time (1800GMT) according to Murat Baser, a board member of the Islamic community center.

Baser told Anadolu Agency that police were alerted and were later passed footage from the center’s security cameras.

“The courage of the group climbing an Islamic building is distressing. We see that these people are capable of doing much worse,” he said.

“It is unsettling for Muslims that have served this country for years being blamed for every unfavorable incident,” Baser added.