Celebrating until midnight

City compares Ramadan custom to Easter egg hunt

In the residential building at Eichenstraße 2C, it gets loud every day after sunset. Neighbors are asked for understanding via information letters.(Bild: Bartel, zVg, Krone KREATIV)

Residents of Meidling are deprived of sleep every night because of noisy Ramadan celebrations. And this is how the city reacts. 

Since the start of the Islamic month of fasting around two weeks ago, the residents of the apartment building at Eichenstraße 2C in Meidling have not had a peaceful night. Every day after sunset, Muslims meet in their apartments and party until late at night. "I haven't been able to sleep a wink for weeks, every evening they party loudly until well after midnight. It's a disturbance of the peace," says resident Erna T. Together with other residents, she has complained about this to the district manager.

Information leaflet caused trouble for residents
A few days later, the 89-year-old was astonished when she discovered a city information leaflet in the stairwell explaining Ramadan. "I am very surprised that the City of Vienna has written to us asking us to be considerate of Ramadan instead of putting an end to the disturbance of the peace at night," she says angrily. And what does the Wiederkehr office, which sent the letter, have to say?

This letter is a sign of misunderstood tolerance. It begs the question of who Integration Councillor Wiederkehr is trying to integrate.

ÖVP-Integrationssprecherin Caroline Hungerländer

"It is our duty to educate people about Ramadan and the customs that go hand in hand with it. Vienna is a diverse city, every culture has different customs, we also look for Easter eggs," says a spokesperson. The information leaflets are important because large gatherings of Muslims can be perceived as a threat by some, they say.