The controversial Tewhid Mosque in Vienna-Meidling is no longer part of the Islamic Religious Community (IGGÖ). The mosque was closed after the terrorist attack in Vienna in 2020 because the attacker is said to have radicalized there. The reason is, among other things, that the controversial ex-Imam continued to be active there.
With the decision from December 2023, the mosque will not be closed; the association authorities would have to decide on this. However, the facility is no longer operated under the umbrella of the IGGÖ and is therefore no longer allowed to call itself a mosque. Ex-Imam still activeThe Tewhid Mosque was not only noticed in connection with the Vienna attacker. The 17-year-old who planned a terrorist act at Vienna Central Station in September and refrained from doing so at the last second also traveled there weekly. It was initially closed after the terrorist attack in Vienna. However, the association authorities reversed the closure after no violation of the law could be proven. After a decision by the IGGÖ’s internal arbitration court, it regained its legal personality. The authorities were unable to provide any evidence for their allegations against the mosque, according to the IGGÖ’s reasoning at the time. The requested measures were not implemented. However, a new imam was appointed for the mosque, and further measures were also requested by the IGGÖ in order to “make the structure transparent Community work and dealing with extremist tendencies within the community. However, the agreement was not “satisfactorily implemented,” the IGGÖ now explained its latest decision. For example, the controversial preacher, whose name also appears again in the current terror investigation files surrounding the 17-year-old, is said to have not been away from the mosque or only been away for a short time, the reports said, also citing security circles and people from the mosque Salafist scene. According to IGGÖ, he was most recently active as an Arabic teacher in the mosque.
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