An unfamiliar Aspect of Islam in Europe

A call for the return of Muslim properties in Eastern Europe – Vienna Conference ends with a final declaration.

All to often the civil and social aspects of Islam embodied in the network of Islamic trusts and endowments (awqaf) have unfortunately remained a background phenomenon in comparison to the media exposure generated by social unrest and by a purely political view of organised Islam in Europe. One of the few exceptions to this rule may be found in the recently concluded conference in Vienna. The conference on « Islamic Pious Trusts (Auqaf) in Eastern Europe » – organised by the Islamischen Glaubensgemeinschaft (IGGi – Islamic Religious Community in Austria) together with the European Islamic conference (EIC) – concluded on 4th December with a joint final declaration.