Austria’s ruling People’s Party (ÖVP) has called for a total ban of the use of Islamic law, Sharia, in Austria.
On December 29 Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker announced he would put the ban on the agenda for an upcoming closed-door meeting between the ÖVP and its coalition partners.
At the two-day conference on January 13-14, Austria’s three-party coalition plans to set its aims for the first six months of 2026.
The ban on Sharia law is part of a wider effort by Austria’s Conservatives to fight against political Islam – or at least appear as if they are doing so.
The ÖVP’s main coalition partner, the traditionally more Muslim-friendly Social Democrats (SPÖ), did not reject the proposition outright, but said it would wait for a concrete proposal to see what laws would be changed to enable the ban.
“We believe that the Austrian constitutional state must apply to everyone and take precedence over Sharia law”, an SPÖ spokesman told newspaper Die Presse.
Federal Chancellor Stocker had previously said he wanted permanently to put a stop to the use of Islamic law.
“As a politician, I am not prepared to accept that Sharia law, a legal system for a theocracy that conflicts with our values, should apply in Austria, even if only in individual provisions,” Stocker told newspaper Der Standard.
“The signal this sends is that it is possible to live according to Sharia law in Austria and even to use it as a basis for legal decisions. This is unacceptable. Sharia law is a legal system that we cannot accept. There cannot and will not be a caliphate in Austria”, he said.
Stocker’s remarks followed a highly controversial decision by a Vienna court in August 2025, which allowed the use of Sharia law in private contracts.
Michael Schilchegger, an MP and speaker on constitutional law for the right-wing Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) wrote at the time: “This opens the door even wider for political Islam. The ruling elevates Islamic parallel societies in Austria and weakens those forces that do not want to submit to Islam. A sad day for the secular constitutional state.”
According to media reports, Austrian courts may allow the application of Sharia law in family law matters as long as the Islamic rules do not conflict with Austrian legal principles.
