VIENNA, Austria: Turks residing in Austria’s capital celebrated the 1435th birth anniversary of holy Prophet Mohammed (peace be on him and his pure progeny) with a “culture festival.”

Hundreds of Turks living in and around Vienna participated in the “Holy Birth Culture Festival” organized at the Stadthalle Sport and Exhibition Center.

Austrian Parliamentary Speaker Professor Andreas Khol also attended the ceremony organized by 10 NGO’s under the leadership of Turkey’s Vienna Religious Affairs Undersecretary.

Beginning his speech in Turkish, Kohl said: “My dear fellow Muslims, I sincerely greet you. Salamun Alaykum. I would like to inform you that Austria will exert every effort to enable Muslims to practice their religion freely like the members of other faiths.”

Khol, referring to the thousands of women with headscarves in the hall, said: “We do perceive integration the same as assimilation. The Muslims living in our country have the right to live and work as their religion requires. They can dress anyway that is appropriate to their daily lives, at schools and at their workplaces. No one has the right to object to this.”