Saleha Waqar

In November, art-lovers will flock to the city for the 7th annual Vienna Art Week, running from 14-20 Nov. Not only the City of Music, Vienna’s wealth in visual artists, ateliers, galleries and artwork is often underestimated, and only the biggest names – like Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele – are widely known on an international level.  

19th- and 20th-century Austrian art at Giese und Schweiger-Kunst Handel

He is standing at an event at the British Museum when a woman cloaked in a full hijab approaches him. She presses a card into his hand. It reads, “Karima Makeup Artists.” He looks up, clearly surprised, as she walks back and disappears into the crowd. Curiosity takes hold and he gives her a call the next day. Incredibly, Karima is a former supermodel. She is also a white British Muslim who now wears the veil and works her makeup magic on other models.

In an impassioned speech at Vienna’s Amerika Haus on Monday, Dr. Mohamed Rabie said: “The only remaining solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict is the complete economic and political isolation of Israel from the international community.” A hushed silence seemed to follow these words, reverberating around the room. It wasn’t negative silence – the audience appeared amazed that someone would say such controversial things in a public forum. The magnitude of this stance has sweeping implications on not just Israel but on the international community as a whole. One always expects at least one Israel supporter to make an equally sweeping statement in reaction, accusing speakers like Rabie of presenting only one side of the coin. At this event, however, there was no backlash whatsoever.