“Look, You Machame You Dog”:  The Story of an Anti-Islamic Inscription  on St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna

Ernst Fürlinger

doi:10.33182/bc.v6i2.498

“Look, You Machame You Dog”: The Story of an Anti-Islamic Inscription on St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna

Authors

Ernst Fürlinger Institute for Religious Studies, University of Vienna, and Center for Religion and Globalization, Danube University Krems

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33182/bc.v6i2.498

Keywords:

Siege of Vienna 1683, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, anti-Islamic traditions

Abstract

After the 1683 Siege of Vienna, an anti-Islamic inscription and sculpture – possibly representing the head of Muhammad – were affixed onto the tower of St. Stephen’s cathedral in Vienna. In the 21st century, this story highlights the difficulties that arise when the collective memory of the former Catholic empire or nation collides with human rights norms of the modern constitutional republic as well with the norms of religious dialogue in the Catholic Church.

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Author Biography

Ernst Fürlinger, Institute for Religious Studies, University of Vienna, and Center for Religion and Globalization, Danube University Krems

Ernst Fürlinger is Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Institute for Religious Studies, University of Vienna, and Head of the Center for Religion and Globalization, Danube University Krems, Dr.-Karl-Dorrek-Strasse 30, 3500 Krems, Austria.

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Published

2016-10-07

How to Cite

Fürlinger, E. (2016) “‘Look, You Machame You Dog’: The Story of an Anti-Islamic Inscription on St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna”, Border Crossing. London, UK, 6(2), pp. 337–341. doi: 10.33182/bc.v6i2.498.