Islamic charity to aid refugees in Austria

VIENNA, April 26 (KUNA) -- Head of Islamic Religious Community of Austria (IGGO) Umit Vural announced Monday the establishment of an Islamic charitable organization called Karima Charity Foundation to provide humanitarian aid to those in need, similar to the Caritas Internationalis of the Catholic Church and Diakonie, affiliated with the Protestant Church.
Among the charitable assistance provided by Karima is funding social projects for refugees and immigrants to help them live a decent life and integrate into Austrian society while preserving their cultural and religious heritage, Vural told Austria Press Agency Monday.
In addition, IGGO will start implementing a program to prepare imams in a way that makes them qualified to help social integration within an atmosphere of religious tolerance, he explained.
In this regard, Vural indicated that IGGO maintains good relations with the Church Council, the Diocese of Vienna, and coordinates with it directly to provide humanitarian services and exchange experiences, recalling that the establishment of Karima was not easy, but rather required a lot of effort and preparation in advance.
He hopes that many Muslim youths would join this organization to contribute to serving the Islamic community and all those in need of humanitarian help.
IGGO invites anyone who wants to become an imam in a mosque or a place of worship affiliated with the organization to join the Imams school, which will start soon, where the training period will last three years, at the end of which the graduate is given an official certificate that qualifies him to perform his religious duties properly, he said.
At the end of his speech, he urged the Austrian government and society to deal with Muslims with respect as part of society and in a way that encourages coexistence among different communities of society. (end) amq.lr