We know what’s coming and we are prepared.
A court in Vienna has caused a storm after confirming that a financial ruling based on Islamic law, or Sharia, is legally valid in Austria.
Critics say the judgment opens the door to “parallel justice” and undermines the country’s legal system.
The case began when two Muslim men agreed that any disputes between them would be settled by an Islamic arbitration panel using Sharia rules.
When a disagreement arose, the tribunal ordered one of them to pay €320,000. He refused, arguing that Sharia is open to different interpretations and goes against Austria’s core values.
But the Vienna Regional Court dismissed his appeal. Judges said Austrian law allows people to choose arbitration systems for financial and property disputes, as long as the result does not break Austria’s “fundamental legal values.”
The court added that it was not its role to examine whether Sharia itself was fair, but only whether the outcome contradicted Austrian law.
The ruling has sparked fierce criticism. Manfred Haimbuchner, deputy governor of Upper Austria and a leading figure in the right-wing Freedom Party (FPÖ), warned:
Sharia is incompatible with our basic values. This is another example of our legal system being powerless against the creeping influence of Islam.
He pointed out that Sharia includes punishments such as stoning and allows the beating of women, saying: “It can never be reconciled with our understanding of law.”
Another FPÖ politician, Andreas Bors, called the ruling “absolute madness” and said:
Austria is a Christian and Western state under the rule of law. That rule of law must never be undermined by parallel justice or religious legal systems such as Sharia.
Even the Turkish Cultural Association (TKG) expressed concern. In a statement, it said the ruling violated EU treaties, and it pointed to a 2003 decision by the European Court of Human Rights, which found that Sharia is incompatible with human rights law.
The group argued the Vienna decision could lead to “a strong interference in today’s secular economy, and tomorrow in rules for trade, sales, and services.”
Commentators in Austrian media have warned that the case could set a dangerous precedent.
The conservative outlet Exxpress called it a “grotesque” symptom of the EU’s failed migration policies, and said the judgment sends the wrong signal about integration. “Austria is not an Islamic state,” the outlet wrote, warning that allowing Sharia in contracts undermines trust in democracy and the rule of law.
Although the court said its decision only applies to property disputes, opponents fear it will encourage the wider use of Sharia-based agreements in Austria.
📢 🇬🇧 🥫 Britain has urged households to stock enough water, non-perishable food and medicine to be self-sufficient for three days, launching a new “Be Ready” preparedness campaign.
Government guidance recommends about three liters of drinking water per person per day, food that needs no refrigeration or cooking, essential medications, a first-aid kit, a torch, a battery or wind-up radio, a charged power bank and cash.
Officials cited severe storms, wildfires, cyberattacks and supply chain disruptions as the main risks, with Defence Secretary Wes Streeting pointing to “increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks” and scenarios such as supermarket payment systems going down.
Germany has long gone further, recommending households keep emergency supplies for 10 days, including about two liters of liquid per person per day.
📝 ReadyGuidance: "Worth noting the US version of this advice, at Ready.gov, is one gallon of water per person per day, about 3.8 liters, because ...
🇮🇹 Italy Experiences Food and Fuel Shortages After Truckers on Strike Block Roads. 90% of gas stations in Campania are out of fuel
Truckers protesting high gas prices have prevented deliveries to parts of southern Italy, leading to empty shelves and dry pumps.
On Wednesday night in Naples, Italy, a 72-year-old retiree walked into a supermarket to buy himself a snack and found it nearly bare.
It was out of milk, yogurt and eggs. Its shelves of pasta, oils and canned tomatoes were almost empty. The vast produce section was empty save for red onions, chestnuts, two melons and a case of ornamental gourds.
“It’s worse than I expected,” said Giuseppe Crisci, the retiree, who walked out with a bag of biscuits. “And what I expected was exceptional.”
Experiences like Mr. Crisci’s played out repeatedly this week across Naples, a sprawling port city in Italy’s south where residents faced widespread shortages at their gas pumps and grocery stores.
It is the fallout from a week of...
🇺🇸🗳⚡️- RN's Midterm Forecast With A Week And A Half To Go 3/3:
Why we think this election will be the first real nail in the coffin for Trumpism.
It has been said so many times it's become a meme, “the walls are closing in” “No way he wiggles out of this jam!” etc. This time it's not a joke, the armor that Trump has had around him for a decade is clearly slipping off.
Trump’s approval by his own 2024 voters continues to rapidly decline, damaged by the nonstop rampant corruption and the Iran War.
Trump approval within the GOP, despite remaining strong on paper, is actually at its lowest since 2015 before he won the 2016 primary. The Iran War in particular has nuked his bedrock fanatical support within the GOP base when looking at not only surveys but also via multiple anecdotes on AM radio talk shows who get callers every day saying they feel betrayed by the war, and that the corruption is becoming unignorable.
GOP activists at the local level are also reporting to their ...
