Allow, Muslim: Street campaign promotes the dialogue in Vienna and Lower Austria!

Allow, Muslim: Street campaign promotes the dialogue in Vienna and Lower Austria!

Mariahilf, Österreich - The road campaign "allow Muslim" ensures lively interest in Vienna and Lower Austria. The Islamic Federations in Austria started this initiative at several publicly accessible locations to promote dialogue with the population. On Saturday, June 21, 2025, the information stands in the capital and in various cities in Lower Austria took place. So people could not only experience encounters with Muslims in Vienna spots such as Währing, Mariahilf and favorites, but also in Baden, Mödling and Wr. Neustadt.

The aim of this dialogue is to reduce inhibitions and reduce prejudices. As the initiative on the Federations' website illustrates, not only information brochures are distributed, but also personal discussions that enable citizens to ask questions and learn more about Islam. The idea behind this is to create a year -round offer of discussion that does not stay in a unique action, but is continuously continued. In autumn 2025, further events in other federal states are planned to further intensify the exchange.

Encounter at eye level

What does it mean to create real encounters? This question is the focus of the campaign, which has also been carried out in other European cities since 2018. The Islamic Community Millî Görüş (IGMG) has set itself the task of promoting this direct contact. As Enes Esatbeyoğlu from IGMG often emphasized, it is about reducing fear of contact and creating empathy. This illustrates how important it is that a focus is on personal dialogue and you are not only developing a picture of a religion or culture based on prejudices.

In Brussels, positive experiences with similar actions have already been made that contributed to strengthening understanding between different cultures. Studies show that where the contact between people is missing, critical attitudes often arise. Therefore, "allowing, Muslim" offers a valuable platform to take the first step and get into conversation.

Intercultural dialogue as a key

In another context, the university dialog with the Islamic world shows how important intercultural understanding is. Here, learning and understanding is promoted by the exchange of ideas and cultures. Numerous programs have already been launched for students from Germany, Oman and Tunisia to promote dialogue. Such a project is, for example, the “Ana Wa-Ant” program, which has supported intercultural dialogue since 2022 and describes creative literature as a means of closing the world.

These initiatives underline that intercultural communication takes place not only on the streets of Vienna or Lower Austria, but also in educational formats that call for sustainable networking between universities and cultures. The importance of such projects is becoming increasingly relevant because the world is moving together more and more.

The "allow Muslim" campaign shows how different and colorful it can be in Austria. The direct contact of people with each other remains crucial for a harmonious living together and the reduction of prejudices. May this dialog be continued in the coming months!

For more information about the campaign and upcoming events, please visit the page of ots, igmg and the DAAD, which offer interesting insights into similar dialogues.