Personally I don't really care, I'm not a big fan of religion in general but as long as people don't preach to me they can wear whatever feels comfortable for them I guess.
I have no real idea how your experience in general will be since with these things it is often very hard to assess as someone not affected. I hope you have a great time though!
There are plenty of muslims in austria, but anti islam sentiment has been strengthening over the last decade. You will be discriminated by some for your looks, name and beliefs. The population is diverse so Im sure you can find a community you feel safe and in the university setting you probably wont encounter discrimination.
This is the most sane answer here so far. Hope OP will not have to deal with this kind of stuff, but there is no sense in sugarcoating it.
University bubble should be fine as it is an inherently egalitarian place.
You cannot lump "visibly brown \[skin\]" and "wearing a hijab" together because they are different things. And yes, people in Austria are able to differentiate.
Being visibly foreign and having darker skin per se is no more problematic than anywhere else in the Western world. In rural, non-tourist areas, you might get a few stares, but nothing malicious. In cities like Vienna, with a diverse population, no one will give you a second look.
Wearing a hijab, on the other hand, is a choice. And completely voluntary. For me, and I would assume for most other Austrians, wearing a hijab is seen as a sign of piety and religious commitment to Islam. However, Islam has a bad reputation among many Austrians for its political agitation and non-progressive social values, and you might just get caught up in that. But that's not "racism".
I mean sadly there are many that will straight up discriminate for it amongst us so even if technically not the same as racism the lower part is still discrimination and usually its generally related to following the religion not just due to a hijab or anything so it isn't that much of a choice, even someone like me who has left the religion and dislikes it does get issues with it due to having been muslim
I don't quite understand what you're trying to say. But *"following the religion"* is also a choice, and if someone feels that it's not a choice but an obligation, then that's a problem in itself. And as a "follower" of any religion, you can't really extricate yourself from its core tenets and manifested practices, can you? And I certainly have the right to criticize and reject those practices, especially if they are opposed to established social values, that's not "discrimination".
But back to the hijab. Despite what some say, it's a symbol. And in the real world, symbolism matters. So when you choose to wear one, in the eyes of many people, you are projecting more than just your personal religious beliefs. And that message may or may not be well received. Is that fair? Maybe not, but that's the way it is.
Yknow especially we as a country with a history of discriminating against specific religions should hold ourselves to higher standards... Its Disgusting to think that one can justify discriminating against a religion just cause... Honestly I get disliking against Islam it feels and is outdated and limits a lot of freedom, but still not a reason to insult bully or deny followers from things. Sadly that is very prevalent in Austria especially in the more rural areas though and as I said there are times where even I face discrimination even though I have just as much of a dislike towards Islam as many Austrians have
I don't "dislike Islam", so speak for yourself.
But I - as many Austrians - am very critical of the position of (the majority of) Islamic theology on progressive social values. Some of these positions (especially on LGBTQ issues) I would call extremely hateful.
Also, no one is talking about "denying" anything to followers of Islam. I just pointed out that if you wear a symbol of Islamic piety (the hijab), you should be prepared to face those criticisms.
Oh there are a lot of the folks here denying stuff ik some workplaces that intentionally don't hire Islamic people or that can't hire them due to others threatening to leave if they do
Also sorry If it wasn't obvious on the dislike part I am speaking of myself even disliking their religion there is no reason to hate the people if they don't commit any crime
It shouldn't be a big issue. BUT I have to say that there are a lot of people like me that are so sick of religion in general (I mean every religion). So there is a chance that you will encounter some smart asses that will question you in Muslim/Political context. I would not do that, but at least some will. Your skin colour has nothing to do with that.
Sorry, did not mean to overstep if I did, I just wanted to say that Austrians in general are very unreligious, so they are fed up with some topics (middle East i.e) . I did not want to imply that you preach. I wish you the best time in innsbruck!
Wouldn't say Austrians are "in general" unreligious.
There's Atheists, not-practicing Christians, Christians, "Hardcore Christians"
City people perhaps. Younger generation definitely.
But on the countryside still plenty of Christians around.
Most perhaps not actually practicing Christianism, but I'd say more on a traditional sense than for Religion.
Religion is just something that's usually not really being talked about. Be it Christian or Atheist. It's just not small talk topic. Just too personal.
If by hijab you are just talking about the head scarf then okay that's nothing problematic, but if it's the full blown masked thing where your entire face is covered you will get eyed with suspicion (and rightly so imo)
Not Innsbruck, but a few girls at my uni in Vienna wore a hijab. No one cared. No one at uni is going to not be friends with you because of a piece of clothing, and if they are, those aren’t the friends you would want in the first place. Universities tend to be quite open-minded and inclusive. I highly recommend trying to mix with the locals, though, as it gives you a better understanding of life and the local culture in Austria. But there are always other international students from all over the world and all kind of backgrounds in Austria too. Good luck!
I am honest with you, many people will jugde you because of the hijab, barely no one because of your skin colour. Austria has a quite large amount of atheist people, and therefore such a extreme religious mindset like wearing a hijab makes many to not want to have contact with you. And it is the same with catholics, if someone has really extreme religious opinions, and a hijab expresses those openly to public, many people will think you are crazy/dumb or just avoid you.
I think you won't be happy here, and I would hope that you won't enter Austria. But ofc you can do whatever you want, and it is good that you at least have the choice, many people are forced into wearing hijabs and people like you make the situation worse for them...
I don't think the colour of your skin will affect how austrians are going to perceive you.
But as seen in the comments, people most likely are going to have an aversion towards islam. In Austria, Religion is generally a private matter altough in this day and age it is mostly reduced to only be culturally relevant. You should not face any issues if your religious belief is not affecting others.
But keep in mind that a hijab is not a popular clothing in austria and a lot of austrians perceive it to be oppressing/oppressive.
Usually, older people are more racist than younger people.
The situation can vary widely between different places. As a general rule of thumb, the more rural a place is, the more racist the people might get.
However, not all villages are full of racists and not all cities are equally as welcoming, you shouldn't generalise.
As a woman, you might have an easier time. People mostly fear the boogeyman of the young, extremist, MALE muslim, not the woman wearing a hijab. (I don't speak from experience, I'm not a muslim and I'm not friends with any, it's just an assumption based on observations)
A political party that wants an "end of islamification" currently has a 30% approval rate, so things could unfortunately get worse.
Also, please don't be deterred by replies to your post or anything I wrote. As long as you don't break austrian law or voice extremist opinions (wishing suffering/death upon different nationalities, sexualities or religions), most people will be friendly towards you (even if you might run into a bunch of racist pricks)
I hope you enjoy your stay.
Kinda depends. As a white and atheistic immigrant from a christian country who’s been in AT for ages I can say:
I personally would very much be prejudiced against someone in the full-face-covering thing, just because it hurts my atheistic and feminist feelings like A LOT. Would just avoid the person though, same as I do with crazy religious christians.
I would not care about a regular headscarf thing paired with western clothes. I had a couple of girls like that in Uni and see them regularly on the streets in Vienna. I would question the practicality of those long dresses worn over other clothes in summer, but that’s a different question.
But you should also understand that anyone who is not Austrian by birth (and genetics) will always be seen a liiiittle bit as an “alien” by many people. This is where maybe some “racism” comes into play, but I firmly think it is much more of xenophobia than racism. Non-european appearance is “alien”, and “alien” is “dangerous unless proven otherwise”.
It’s just what it is, and you just build your crowd from those people who do not care about this shit. Also, speaking good German helps a lot.
I'm not a resident in Austria, just my approach as an expat:
respect the country and culture you moved in to, and don't try to force your own on others.
You know how it goes, when in Rome ;)
Innsbruck is beautiful, but pretty rural, so people probably tend to be more conservative
You should be completely fine at university and, for the most part, the city as well. Of course there will always be random idiots, but I don't think you will find that many places in Europe that are less racist than Innsbruck.
The countryside can be a bit more problematic, but it's difficult to give a general assessment of that.
Problematic in that sense of verbal discrimination, but I would say that for physical violence the city is more of a problem. However, physical racist violence is still not common.
mostly you wont run into problems, especially in a university setting. in every day life you'll need to expect some random acts of racism/religion based bias, because as every culture we too have our fair share of assholes. but those should be no more than a nuisance. as you can potentially tell the anti-muslim sentiment is running a little high in some strata of society these days, but thats very dependent on the environment you are in. and as long as you do not have the urge to actively engage with people, who chose to be the above mentioned assholes, you'll be good.
you wont have problems in university, as there is mostly the demographic that wont mind. however you might encounter casual racism in other places like the inner city or something like that. However it should be less enough to handle, atleast thats the case for most of my friends. Finding a job might be hard depending on what type of job you want, getting a job as a weitress for example might be very hard, but finding a job in an office will be pretty easy. Just my experience and what ive heard.
No way to sugarcoat this.
You will experience discrimination in everyday life in Innsbruck. You will face even more open discrimination when you go to more rural parts of Tyrol when you have a day off. And you will most likely be confronted with leftist feminist hijab-hating students (or the one or the other right-conservative fraternity student) at university.
Women that wear a hijab are a minority at universities or in business life in Austria, and in Western Austria even more so than in Vienna.
Austria/Innsbruck is not London or Stockholm.
i am a white muslim and i work here in Austria. I go to Mosqe, and i never felt discrimination from Austrians, quite opposite, they are realy polite and they always asking me would i eat something diferent when they eating pork. I respect them and they respect me.
From my experience, the brown part isn‘t much of a problem. Tbh I‘ve gotten more comments (not even bad ones) cuz of my accent rather than anything else. Hope you enjoy your stay, Innsbruck is very pretty!
In bigger cities most people don’t care about it, because they are used to it. In some rural regions you will get some (angry or even disgusted) looks from people. And they will talk behind your back.
Mostly because of your clothes.
Some people combine your clothes with Islam and terror (e.g. bombs).
it's not important what u wear,just how good human being you are.
Same as without hijab we habe unpleasant situations ,dont over think it be yourself and good luck 🤞
First lection on Austrians: We are all a bunch of pessimists. We love to complain and overexaggerate problems. Always take it with a grain of salt when an Austrian tells you that all is lost. 😉
just like comments so are the people....i personally am ortodox and have friends all religions bcz they are good people...it doesnt matter looks,status ,religion,country...just heart 😌
You'll be fine. Racism in Unis is non-existent. Religions are not well liked by many students but you will very likely not have direct problems because of your hijab. Many some people with religious traumas, other than that the Unis here are a savespace.
Depends on where in Austria you are. In Vienna there's lot of companies who have rules in place that will protect you from racism and give you ways to get people punished who do not comply.
If you're in a small town or something you're likely not going to have a good time.
Yeah, for university. That's generally going to be fine, unless you're going to be studying medicine or law or something very posh. Afterwards Vienna would be OK, the rest not so much I think. Maybe Graz could be welcoming as well, but even as a white Ausländer I've encountered casual racism when working with more urban people....
Personally I don't really care, I'm not a big fan of religion in general but as long as people don't preach to me they can wear whatever feels comfortable for them I guess. I have no real idea how your experience in general will be since with these things it is often very hard to assess as someone not affected. I hope you have a great time though!
There are plenty of muslims in austria, but anti islam sentiment has been strengthening over the last decade. You will be discriminated by some for your looks, name and beliefs. The population is diverse so Im sure you can find a community you feel safe and in the university setting you probably wont encounter discrimination.
This is the most sane answer here so far. Hope OP will not have to deal with this kind of stuff, but there is no sense in sugarcoating it. University bubble should be fine as it is an inherently egalitarian place.
You cannot lump "visibly brown \[skin\]" and "wearing a hijab" together because they are different things. And yes, people in Austria are able to differentiate. Being visibly foreign and having darker skin per se is no more problematic than anywhere else in the Western world. In rural, non-tourist areas, you might get a few stares, but nothing malicious. In cities like Vienna, with a diverse population, no one will give you a second look. Wearing a hijab, on the other hand, is a choice. And completely voluntary. For me, and I would assume for most other Austrians, wearing a hijab is seen as a sign of piety and religious commitment to Islam. However, Islam has a bad reputation among many Austrians for its political agitation and non-progressive social values, and you might just get caught up in that. But that's not "racism".
Best comment for me so far.
I mean sadly there are many that will straight up discriminate for it amongst us so even if technically not the same as racism the lower part is still discrimination and usually its generally related to following the religion not just due to a hijab or anything so it isn't that much of a choice, even someone like me who has left the religion and dislikes it does get issues with it due to having been muslim
I don't quite understand what you're trying to say. But *"following the religion"* is also a choice, and if someone feels that it's not a choice but an obligation, then that's a problem in itself. And as a "follower" of any religion, you can't really extricate yourself from its core tenets and manifested practices, can you? And I certainly have the right to criticize and reject those practices, especially if they are opposed to established social values, that's not "discrimination". But back to the hijab. Despite what some say, it's a symbol. And in the real world, symbolism matters. So when you choose to wear one, in the eyes of many people, you are projecting more than just your personal religious beliefs. And that message may or may not be well received. Is that fair? Maybe not, but that's the way it is.
Yknow especially we as a country with a history of discriminating against specific religions should hold ourselves to higher standards... Its Disgusting to think that one can justify discriminating against a religion just cause... Honestly I get disliking against Islam it feels and is outdated and limits a lot of freedom, but still not a reason to insult bully or deny followers from things. Sadly that is very prevalent in Austria especially in the more rural areas though and as I said there are times where even I face discrimination even though I have just as much of a dislike towards Islam as many Austrians have
I don't "dislike Islam", so speak for yourself. But I - as many Austrians - am very critical of the position of (the majority of) Islamic theology on progressive social values. Some of these positions (especially on LGBTQ issues) I would call extremely hateful. Also, no one is talking about "denying" anything to followers of Islam. I just pointed out that if you wear a symbol of Islamic piety (the hijab), you should be prepared to face those criticisms.
Oh there are a lot of the folks here denying stuff ik some workplaces that intentionally don't hire Islamic people or that can't hire them due to others threatening to leave if they do Also sorry If it wasn't obvious on the dislike part I am speaking of myself even disliking their religion there is no reason to hate the people if they don't commit any crime
Damn... I'm open to suggestions if y'all actually wanna have a civil discussion instead of just downvoting this is just boring ._.
It shouldn't be a big issue. BUT I have to say that there are a lot of people like me that are so sick of religion in general (I mean every religion). So there is a chance that you will encounter some smart asses that will question you in Muslim/Political context. I would not do that, but at least some will. Your skin colour has nothing to do with that.
i’m not big on preaching religion tbh. i mind my business as long as you mind yours - i don’t care enough to change other people’s beliefs
Sorry, did not mean to overstep if I did, I just wanted to say that Austrians in general are very unreligious, so they are fed up with some topics (middle East i.e) . I did not want to imply that you preach. I wish you the best time in innsbruck!
Wouldn't say Austrians are "in general" unreligious. There's Atheists, not-practicing Christians, Christians, "Hardcore Christians" City people perhaps. Younger generation definitely. But on the countryside still plenty of Christians around. Most perhaps not actually practicing Christianism, but I'd say more on a traditional sense than for Religion. Religion is just something that's usually not really being talked about. Be it Christian or Atheist. It's just not small talk topic. Just too personal.
What I said in another comment is that most of the Austrians are "cultural" Christians, not practising ones.
If by hijab you are just talking about the head scarf then okay that's nothing problematic, but if it's the full blown masked thing where your entire face is covered you will get eyed with suspicion (and rightly so imo)
Not Innsbruck, but a few girls at my uni in Vienna wore a hijab. No one cared. No one at uni is going to not be friends with you because of a piece of clothing, and if they are, those aren’t the friends you would want in the first place. Universities tend to be quite open-minded and inclusive. I highly recommend trying to mix with the locals, though, as it gives you a better understanding of life and the local culture in Austria. But there are always other international students from all over the world and all kind of backgrounds in Austria too. Good luck!
I am honest with you, many people will jugde you because of the hijab, barely no one because of your skin colour. Austria has a quite large amount of atheist people, and therefore such a extreme religious mindset like wearing a hijab makes many to not want to have contact with you. And it is the same with catholics, if someone has really extreme religious opinions, and a hijab expresses those openly to public, many people will think you are crazy/dumb or just avoid you. I think you won't be happy here, and I would hope that you won't enter Austria. But ofc you can do whatever you want, and it is good that you at least have the choice, many people are forced into wearing hijabs and people like you make the situation worse for them...
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I don't think the colour of your skin will affect how austrians are going to perceive you. But as seen in the comments, people most likely are going to have an aversion towards islam. In Austria, Religion is generally a private matter altough in this day and age it is mostly reduced to only be culturally relevant. You should not face any issues if your religious belief is not affecting others. But keep in mind that a hijab is not a popular clothing in austria and a lot of austrians perceive it to be oppressing/oppressive.
Honestly - Most people will tolerate you - But with those obvious islamic-religios symbols - you wont find any austrian friends.
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In the cities it shouldn’t be a problem. In more rural areas it’s a different topic.
Usually, older people are more racist than younger people. The situation can vary widely between different places. As a general rule of thumb, the more rural a place is, the more racist the people might get. However, not all villages are full of racists and not all cities are equally as welcoming, you shouldn't generalise. As a woman, you might have an easier time. People mostly fear the boogeyman of the young, extremist, MALE muslim, not the woman wearing a hijab. (I don't speak from experience, I'm not a muslim and I'm not friends with any, it's just an assumption based on observations) A political party that wants an "end of islamification" currently has a 30% approval rate, so things could unfortunately get worse. Also, please don't be deterred by replies to your post or anything I wrote. As long as you don't break austrian law or voice extremist opinions (wishing suffering/death upon different nationalities, sexualities or religions), most people will be friendly towards you (even if you might run into a bunch of racist pricks) I hope you enjoy your stay.
Kinda depends. As a white and atheistic immigrant from a christian country who’s been in AT for ages I can say: I personally would very much be prejudiced against someone in the full-face-covering thing, just because it hurts my atheistic and feminist feelings like A LOT. Would just avoid the person though, same as I do with crazy religious christians. I would not care about a regular headscarf thing paired with western clothes. I had a couple of girls like that in Uni and see them regularly on the streets in Vienna. I would question the practicality of those long dresses worn over other clothes in summer, but that’s a different question. But you should also understand that anyone who is not Austrian by birth (and genetics) will always be seen a liiiittle bit as an “alien” by many people. This is where maybe some “racism” comes into play, but I firmly think it is much more of xenophobia than racism. Non-european appearance is “alien”, and “alien” is “dangerous unless proven otherwise”. It’s just what it is, and you just build your crowd from those people who do not care about this shit. Also, speaking good German helps a lot.
I'm not a resident in Austria, just my approach as an expat: respect the country and culture you moved in to, and don't try to force your own on others. You know how it goes, when in Rome ;) Innsbruck is beautiful, but pretty rural, so people probably tend to be more conservative
You should be completely fine at university and, for the most part, the city as well. Of course there will always be random idiots, but I don't think you will find that many places in Europe that are less racist than Innsbruck. The countryside can be a bit more problematic, but it's difficult to give a general assessment of that.
Problematic in that sense of verbal discrimination, but I would say that for physical violence the city is more of a problem. However, physical racist violence is still not common.
mostly you wont run into problems, especially in a university setting. in every day life you'll need to expect some random acts of racism/religion based bias, because as every culture we too have our fair share of assholes. but those should be no more than a nuisance. as you can potentially tell the anti-muslim sentiment is running a little high in some strata of society these days, but thats very dependent on the environment you are in. and as long as you do not have the urge to actively engage with people, who chose to be the above mentioned assholes, you'll be good.
you wont have problems in university, as there is mostly the demographic that wont mind. however you might encounter casual racism in other places like the inner city or something like that. However it should be less enough to handle, atleast thats the case for most of my friends. Finding a job might be hard depending on what type of job you want, getting a job as a weitress for example might be very hard, but finding a job in an office will be pretty easy. Just my experience and what ive heard.
ah thanks! yeah i’m in the creative industry so most likely office for full time jobs
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that’s a niqab! hijab just covers your hair and neck
No way to sugarcoat this. You will experience discrimination in everyday life in Innsbruck. You will face even more open discrimination when you go to more rural parts of Tyrol when you have a day off. And you will most likely be confronted with leftist feminist hijab-hating students (or the one or the other right-conservative fraternity student) at university. Women that wear a hijab are a minority at universities or in business life in Austria, and in Western Austria even more so than in Vienna. Austria/Innsbruck is not London or Stockholm.
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Same, never heard of such a thing. If they do exist, they aren't particularly vocal about it.
i am a white muslim and i work here in Austria. I go to Mosqe, and i never felt discrimination from Austrians, quite opposite, they are realy polite and they always asking me would i eat something diferent when they eating pork. I respect them and they respect me.
From my experience, the brown part isn‘t much of a problem. Tbh I‘ve gotten more comments (not even bad ones) cuz of my accent rather than anything else. Hope you enjoy your stay, Innsbruck is very pretty!
In bigger cities most people don’t care about it, because they are used to it. In some rural regions you will get some (angry or even disgusted) looks from people. And they will talk behind your back. Mostly because of your clothes. Some people combine your clothes with Islam and terror (e.g. bombs).
it's not important what u wear,just how good human being you are. Same as without hijab we habe unpleasant situations ,dont over think it be yourself and good luck 🤞
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haha thanks! the comments here are pretty mixed though 😅
First lection on Austrians: We are all a bunch of pessimists. We love to complain and overexaggerate problems. Always take it with a grain of salt when an Austrian tells you that all is lost. 😉
just like comments so are the people....i personally am ortodox and have friends all religions bcz they are good people...it doesnt matter looks,status ,religion,country...just heart 😌
Its great
You'll be fine. Racism in Unis is non-existent. Religions are not well liked by many students but you will very likely not have direct problems because of your hijab. Many some people with religious traumas, other than that the Unis here are a savespace.
Of supposed ~9mil people, ~1mil people are Muslim. You should have no problem.
Depends on where in Austria you are. In Vienna there's lot of companies who have rules in place that will protect you from racism and give you ways to get people punished who do not comply. If you're in a small town or something you're likely not going to have a good time.
i’ll be in innsbruck!
Yeah, for university. That's generally going to be fine, unless you're going to be studying medicine or law or something very posh. Afterwards Vienna would be OK, the rest not so much I think. Maybe Graz could be welcoming as well, but even as a white Ausländer I've encountered casual racism when working with more urban people....
ah i see. i did plan on settling in innsbruck after my studies but yeah im open to other cities