Austria’s President Alexander van der Bellen has incurred the wrath of many constituents by publicly congratulating Muslims on the start of Ramadan – while seemingly downplaying the importance of Christian Lent.
In 2026, both Ramadan and Lent started yesterday. This marks the first time in 98 years that both the Muslim and the Christian fasting periods began on the same day.
To mark the occasion, van der Bellen shared an image of several fanous, a type of lantern widely used by Muslims to decorate streets and homes for Ramadan, with the Arab slogan “Ramadan Kareem!” (generous Ramadan) and the Austrian coat of arms.
Wenn jetzt die christliche Fastenzeit und der Ramadan beginnen, erinnert uns das daran, innezuhalten, dankbar zu sein und füreinander da zu sein.
Ich wünsche allen eine friedliche Zeit, in der wir im gegenseitigen Respekt und in gelebter Gemeinschaft näher zusammenrücken. (vdb) pic.twitter.com/Uj2VgH4v3C
— Alexander Van der Bellen (@vanderbellen) February 18, 2026
The image was shared with both the President’s 320,000 followers on X and his 300,000 followers on Instagram, accompanied by the message: “As Christian Lent and Ramadan begin, we are reminded to pause, be grateful and be there for one another. I wish everyone a peaceful time, in which we can grow closer together in mutual respect and active community.”
Many users reacted negatively to the posts, accusing the Austrian head of state of downplaying the importance of Lent by opting for a Ramadan-themed picture.
“The majority of Austrians are still Christians and you should not intentionally forget about them,” read one of hundreds of similar comments, adding a picture of an ashen cross.
Conservative journalist Ellen Fantini wrote: “Austrian President lumps Lent and Ramadan greetings together but with a graphic for Ramadan and a preachy ‘mutual respect’ message. Spare me.”
Van der Bellen is a former Greens Party politician and became President of Austria in 2017. In April that year, he incurred a storm of criticism for suggesting Austrian women wear an Islamic headscarf out of solidarity with Muslims.
The President is not the only one accused of trying to flatter Muslims at the start of Ramadan.
The German Embassy to the US also shared a picture of a fanou on its Instagram account, writing: “As Ramadan begins, the German Embassy in Washington wishes Muslims in the United States and around the world a peaceful and blessed start to the holy month.”
The beginning of Lent was not mentioned by the embassy.
Many German cities have also started decorating their streets in honour of the Islamic fasting month.
The city of Frankfurt has festooned its central pedestrian zone with glowing half moons and “Happy Ramadan” slogans for the third year in a row in what mayor Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg (Greens Party) called “a symbol for peaceful togetherness and solidarity”. Similar decorations have been installed in Cologne.
Frankfurt is home to 130,000 Muslims, Cologne to 120,000 Muslims.
