Perhaps controversially, the ATIB Union stands before us. It is a large Turkish-Islamic organization in Austria. Did you know it has over 60 branches and around 100,000 members?
Founded in 1990 or 1991, ATIB Union coordinates religious activities. It also handles social and cultural events for Turkish-Islamic mosque communities. Nihat Koca currently chairs the ATIB Union.
The ATIB Union is officially called the Turkish-Islamic Union for cultural and social cooperation in Austria. ATIB is the largest Muslim association in Austria. Since 2011, it has been a member of the Islamic Religious Community in Austria. Ibrahim Olgun was the president between 2016 and 2018.
ATIB represents the Sunni Islam of the Hanafi legal school. It provides state-appointed imams and female counselors from Turkey. These people support the mosque communities. ATIB is similar to Germany’s Turkish-Islamic Union of the Institute for Religion. It acts as an extension of the Turkish religious authority Diyanet. The Turkish embassy has the power to instruct ATIB.
ATIB Union GmbH is partly operated by ATIB. It shares it with the Association for Social Support in Austria since 2012. The company is located in Vienna-Favoriten. Its business includes undertaking burials and running gastronomy.
In 1996, ATIB bought a 1500 square meter property. It was a former factory site on Dammstrasse. They set up a prayer room, dining hall, supermarket, and other facilities. Local authorities blocked expansion plans due to concerns about the neighborhood. They feared over 1,000 expected visitors would burden the area.
After eleven years, new plans emerged. They sought approval to build a kindergarten for thirty children. The plans also included seminar rooms, two apartments, and event spaces. A citizens’ initiative formed to oppose the project. Yet, in 2008 and 2009, authorities approved the expansion.
In 2013, the renovations cost around 2.8 million euros. A five-story building was erected facing the street.
ATIB has faced criticism over the years. Many view it as closely tied to Turkey’s ruling AKP party. Critics say it is an Austrian arm of the Turkish government’s Religious Affairs office. When Turkey removed the theory of evolution from school curricula, ATIB initially protested. However, it withdrew the criticism under pressure from Turkey.
Critics claim that ATIB hinders integration. They say the organization encourages Muslims to push hardline Islamic views. This can be seen in the school environment. Pictures surfaced from an ATIB Koran course. They showed nine-year-old girls wearing headscarves.
In May 2018, it was revealed that an ATIB-associated kindergarten taught a Turkish-nationalistic program since 2009. Children were taught Turkish values and culture. Authorities knew about the concept but only changed it in 2017.
In 2018, the ATIB mosque in Dammstrasse gained notoriety. Boys in camouflage acted out scenes from the Battle of Canakkale. Girls waved the Turkish flag. This drew sharp criticism from all political sides. The Islamic Religious Community also criticized it. Similar war games with children occurred in 2016. Photos showed children playing dead soldiers covered with Turkish flags.
Similar events happened in Germany. Mosques associated with DITIB, which is linked to the Turkish religious authority, staged similar acts. Experts suggest these events are not isolated. They are part of a pattern of using children for propaganda. Calls for Austria’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution to monitor ATIB have grown.
In early 2017, Austrian prosecutors investigated ATIB. The investigation focused on spying on Gülen supporters. Kurds and critics of Erdogan were also allegedly spied on. The Turkish religious authority Diyanet was supposedly behind it. ATIB is suspected of gathering information on individuals and minimizing their influence in Austria.
In June 2018, ATIB confirmed that it illegally financed imams from abroad. Secret intelligence activities could lead to the association’s dissolution.
The ATIB Union remains a point of contention. It stirs debate about religion, integration, and Turkish influence in Austria. It represents a complex intersection of culture, faith, and politics in Vienna.