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A politician has described the prophet Muhammad as a "child abuser" and warned that Austria faces an "Islamic immigration tsunami" that will make half of the country Muslim within two decades.
Susanne Winter, a lawyer, is a member of Austria's conservative Freedom Party. Her smiling face on campaign placards in the southern city of Graz is accompanied by the slogans "no home for radical Islam" and "she hits the nail on the head".
Leaders of the country's Islamic groups said they could not rule out "violent protests" as a result of her remarks. The Foreign Ministry was reported to have issued an alert to its embassies in Islamic countries.
Mainstream parties distanced themselves from Winter. Walter Ferk, a leading Social Democrat and deputy mayor of Graz, said her remarks were "pure racism and obvious discrimination against a community that has been recognised in Austria for many years". He pointed out that Graz had the smallest population of Muslims in Austria.
Winter, 50, is a candidate for her party in this weekend's local elections in Graz. She told a rally of about 3000 supporters on Monday that Islam was a "totalitarian system" which deserved to be "chucked back to where it came from: on the other side of the Mediterranean".
Adding that Graz was threatened by what she described as "an Islamic immigration tsunami" she said half of Austria's population would be Muslim "within 20 to 30 years". She ended her speech with comments on Muhammad. Citing references to the religious leader consummating a marriage to a 9-year-old, she said: "By today's standards, Muhammad would be considered a child abuser."
Yesterday, in an interview with the daily newspaper Osterreich, she said child abuse was "widespread among Islamic men" and that Muhammad had written the Koran during "attacks of epilepsy". Her speech is reported to have received enthusiastic applause.
Speculation has begun that Winter has made herself a target for Islamic extremists. Anas Schakfeh, president of Austria's Islamic community, said the mood among Muslims was furious. He said: "I aim for conciliation, but I cannot rule out the possibility of violent protests."
Omar al-Rawi, another Islamic spokesman, said: "Islam-bashing has reached a level which is stomach-turning and makes one want to be sick."
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