An article on Mohamed M.’s lectures may have consequences for an Islamist mosque in Vienna.

The “Sphinx-Club” on Vienna’s “Gürtel” ring road, better known amongst Islamists as the Dar us-Salam mosque.

***

Mohamed M.’s comeback as a propagandist for radical Islam may come to a standstill: The 27-year-old, who served a four year sentence for membership in a terrorist organization and held lectures in a prayer room at Vienna’s Gürtel ring road, has  attracted the anger of the owners of the building. They have been shocked by the KURIER-report on the events inside the Dar us-Salam mosque. “To our dismay we found out that the house of prayer which is mentioned in your report is one of our properties,” said the landlord. “We hired a lawyer to review the termination of the lease.”

Since his release in September Mohamed M. held lectures in the small “Sphinx club”. He told his followers that terrorism is a “service to God” and carrying weapons is the “glory of Islam”. He knew exactly how far he could go: As soon as his statement would violate criminal law, he stopped his sentences with the word “Khalas” (Egyptian Arabic for “enough”). This was too much for the owner, especially because he had problems with the egyptian club in the past: Until September 2009, the mosque could not pay the rent regularly – after all, more than 17,000 € per year.

But there are problems with the municipal buildings inspection too: The rooms in the basement, which serve as a mosque since 2005, are zoned as a storage space and should not be used as a club room. “We have taken actions against the illegal use of the basement,” said Gerhard Cech from Vienna’s Magistrate 37 (municipal buildings inspection). The egyptian organisation running the mosque may be evicted.

Saudi visits

But M.’s lectures are not the only reasons why some tenants in the building are astonished: Regular visits by employees from the Saudi Embassy worry them too. In recent weeks, cars with diplomatic license plates from the Saudi Mission in Vienna are parked almost  every Friday outside the mosque. An expert on Vienna’s Islamist scene, however, excluded the possibility that the mosque is funded by the Saudis. KURIER contacted the embassy but didn’t receive an answer so far.