In Europe, religious minorities face mounting hostility, harassment

A decade ago, Austria was a Euro­pean country where Muslims felt they could live in peace.

Now the government includes a far-right party openly opposed to Muslims and migrants, some mosques have re­cently been closed down as security threats, and politicians are asking whether Muslims should be barred from fasting at school during Ramadan.

“The old days are long gone,” said Carla Amina Baghajati, a Muslim school administrator in Vienna. “If you’re visibly Muslim on the street, for example, a woman with a headscarf, you’re looked at differently now. I haven’t met anyone who says it’s like it used to be.”