A small Austrian party, supported by a significant portion of the country’s Turkish immigrants, has chosen an anti-Israeli, hijab-wearing young Muslim woman as their lead candidate in the upcoming state elections in Vienna, Austrian publication Exxpress reports.
Sali Attia is the lead candidate of the Social Austria of the Future (SÖZ) party, but last year, at the national elections, she stood for the Gaza List, a self-declared “anti-Zionist” party. According to Exxpress, it is a left-wing radical force that espouses pro-Islamic values, spews hatred against Israel, and ignores the atrocities committed by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
By allying themselves with SÖZ, the Gaza List hopes to get a seat in the Viennese municipal council, despite the party not officially standing in the elections. The Gaza List received 0.4% of the votes at last year’s national elections, while SÖZ got 1.2% at the 2020 Vienna elections—20% of people with a Turkish migrant background voted for them.
SÖZ campaigns for the rights of Muslims, wants the last day of Ramadan to be declared a national holiday, as well as an annual festival celebrated in one of Vienna’s main squares. The Gaza List has vowed to stand against “Islamophobia” in Austria and against the government’s “anti-Islam stance.”
A 2017 study by the Vienna Institute of Demography predicted that by 2046, one in three residents of Vienna could be a Muslim. It is therefore not unreasonable to claim that Islamic parties such as SÖZ and the Gaza List could gain popularity.
