Mustafa Sagirogullari was born in Gaziantep, a city near the Turkish-Syrian border. When he was three, his family moved to Austria. First to Pram, where the now 40-year-old spent his entire childhood. After completing compulsory schooling, he moved his center of life to Ried. The operations manager of Servus Europa in Suben has been chairman of the Turkish-Islamic association for cultural and social cooperation Atib in Ried for four years.
OÖN: Mr. Sagirogullari, you were born in Turkey and grew up in Austria. Do you feel like you’re Austrian or Turkish?
I get asked this question quite often. Both countries mean a lot to me. I really enjoy living in Austria and am an Austrian citizen. But I also like visiting Turkey.
How did you come to become CEO of Atib Ried?
This is something of a tradition in our family. My father had already held this position for ten years. After the resignation of our last board chairman, I stood for election and was elected by our members. Since then I have been managing the fortunes of our club.
What were your motives to run for CEO?
Because I really wanted to put our club in a better light in public. Unfortunately, there are still many prejudices once morest our club. I would like to counteract that. Many members also encouraged me to take on the position.
One prejudice is that Election advertising for Turkish President Taycep Erdogan is being carried out in mosques or in the premises of Turkish cultural associations.
It’s exactly these kinds of claims that really bother me. Because they are fictional. There is definitely no election advertising here in Ried. Neither for Taycep Erdogan nor for any other politician. Quite the opposite: It is forbidden to talk regarding politics in our premises. This is no different for the other Atib clubs in Austria. Politics and religion don’t mix. There is a strict separation here.
The imams (prayer leaders) of the Turkish cultural associations are also often criticized. It says, They would incite once morest Christianity and Europe, especially during their speeches during Friday prayers.
This has never been the case for us and never will be. Why should we agitate once morest a country in which we live, of which many of us are citizens? For me that doesn’t make complete sense. Anyone who doesn’t believe me is welcome to come to a Friday prayer. I always translate the Imam’s speech into German. After all, it’s not just Turks who come to us to pray, but also Bosnians, Kosovars and Arabs. Since they don’t all speak Turkish, I translate the speech for them. They should know what the Imam is talking regarding.
Turks do not want to integrate and live in a parallel society in Austria. Such statements are commonplace. How do you see that?
Of course they want to integrate. But we will never completely banish this prejudice from people’s minds. There is a very simple reason why this is so.
This one would be?
The first Turkish guest workers who came to Ried in the 1960s actually lived in their own community. But there was almost no other way to do this because they worked with Turks in the companies and they all lived in the same settlement. They really had little contact with Austrians. The new generation ticks differently.
What do you mean?
Many of the Turks living in Austria today were born here and completed their schooling in Austria, are part of society and hold public functions. The fact that they still stand by their Turkish roots is nothing forbidden for me.
They have integrated very well, speak perfect German. Do you see yourself as a role model for many young Turks in Ried?
I wouldn’t describe myself as a role model, but I am very proud of the fact that I integrated quickly into Austria. The fact that this was the case is largely due to my parents and the fact that I grew up in Pram, a small community. There weren’t many Turks in Pram, so my siblings and I were basically forced to learn the language. We didn’t want to be outsiders, but rather an integral part of the community. But this is only possible if the respective national language is spoken.
What role did your parents play?
A very big one. They always told us that education is the key to a good life. They were strongly committed to ensuring that my siblings and I mastered the German language as quickly as possible and that we had a good education. In my opinion, this should be the case for everyone. The parents have to set an example. Then the children come along too. That’s why I always appeal to our members that they and their children should learn German.
They have three children. Is German or Turkish spoken in your home?
Both languages. It is very important for me and my wife that our children grow up bilingual.
Islam is heavily criticized in Europe.
I would now describe it more as hatred. And this is getting bigger every day. Islam is portrayed in a very bad light. That bothers me massively and was one of the reasons why I wanted to become chairman. I want to show that Islam is a peaceful religion. Not all Muslims are terrorists. Islam means peace. Nowhere in the Quran does it say that you should harm others. Unfortunately, Islam is often used by terrorist organizations as an excuse to wage wars or carry out terrorist attacks. Unfortunately, there are black sheep everywhere.
How does the collaboration with the city of Ried work?
Very good and always at eye level. During the last month of fasting, Ramadan, for example, the municipality made the former ice skating rink available to us for the daily breaking of the fast (Iftar). This is not the case in all cities where the clubs are supported in this way. We are very grateful.
And how does cooperation with other religious communities work?
Also very good. We are in lively exchange. Work closely together. Do joint workshops. But I have to admit that this wasn’t always the case. I’m all the more pleased that the collaboration is working well. Ultimately, we all have the same goal. We want to live together in peace and quiet.
Your association organizes the annual cultural festival “Kermes”. Will the event also take place this year?
The Kermes has a long tradition for us and has been an integral part of our event calendar since the club was founded 28 years ago. This year the cultural festival will take place from May 30th to June 2nd. In recent years a lot of visitors have come, including numerous Austrians, which has always made us particularly happy. Our cultural festival offers everyone who is interested the opportunity to take a look behind the scenes of our association and to find out more regarding Islam and Turkish culture as well as our work. There are also many specialties from Turkey that are freshly prepared by our members. Performances by Turkish music and dance groups round off the supporting program of our cultural festival. It’s definitely worth stopping by.
Author
Omer Tarabic
Local editor Innviertel
Omer Tarabic
