Austrian Historian Researches Muslims in the Military

Austrian historian and ethnologist, Dr. Valeria Heuberger, has taken a keen interest in the roles that Muslims have played in both the Austrian and U.S. militaries. That interest, which spans from the First World War to the present-day, has led Heuberger down a path of research comparing and contrasting approaches to diversity on two continents.

In 2007, Heuberger participated in an exchange program to the United States through the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) on a project titled, "Ethnic, Cultural and Religious Diversity." When asked how this helped to shape her understanding of diversity in the United States and Austria, she said: “Having known about diversity and pluralism in the U.S. due to prior visits, this time I got the chance to get a much broader picture of the way how the U.S. is dealing with the enormous diversity of ethnic, religious and cultural groups.”

Heuberger’s exchange program facilitated meetings with a variety of people including Muslims from Arab countries, Afro-American Muslims, Christians, and NGOs assisting former refugees from Somalia. One meeting she found particularly valuable was with military personnel at the Foreign Military Studies Office (FMSO) in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

“The manner in which they combine academic knowledge with practical use for military personnel on the ground was especially interesting for me due to my former experiences as an election observer for the OSCE [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe] in the Balkans and in Siberia,” says Heuberger.

Following her IVLP experience, Heuberger has returned to the United States for conferences and in April 2008, she visited a U.S. naval base in Norfolk, Virginia. “When I was crossing the country from the East to the West Coast, it was impressive to learn about the enormous range of ethnic and religious groups living in the U.S. who create their own ways ‘for the pursuit of happiness.’”

These meetings enabled her to draw similarities and divergences between Muslims in Europe and in the United States. In May 2008 Heuberger shared some of her research in a lecture in Vienna; she gave a broad overview of the experience of Muslims in the Austrian-Hungarian military during World War I, addressed current issues facing EU countries, and discussed her research on Muslims in the Austrian and U.S. militaries. She also shared her discussions with a U.S. Muslim military chaplain while on her exchange visit and shared photos of a Muslim prayer room on a U.S. military base.

Heuberger says that political and spirtual leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr. have an impact worldwide. “What one can learn from them is never to give up, self-discipline, and compassion,” she says. Her next lecture on “Islam in the U.S.A.” will be in January 2009 at the University of Vienna.