Austrian clerics of different religions have criticized the attacks against Muslims, following a terrorist attack on November 2, stressing that terrorism and violence have no religion.

Press reports indicated that solidarity comes at a time when Muslims in Austria are subjected to racist attacks, following the announcement of the Prime Minister, Sebastian Kurz, of new measures targeting Muslims, under the pretext of combating terrorism.

The European country recorded more than 80 racist attacks against Muslims during about 15 days after the Vienna terrorist attack.

In the same context, the Austrian authorities have arrested 30 Muslim activists and academics, who were widely known in Austrian society, and labeled them as terrorists.

Bishop Bernhard Heitz believes only justice could prevent terrorism, and that anti-Islam sentiments would be counter-productive.

“Muslim representatives, just like representatives of other religions, have distanced themselves from recent attacks in Paris, Nice, Dresden and Vienna... far-right rhetoric and tolerating anti-Islam sentiments would be counterproductive," he told news agencies.

“The idea of monitoring a specific population group, in this case the Muslim population of Austria, would undermine mutual trust among the people, social cohesion and peace, and therefore would be unacceptable for all."

Chief Rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister said the terrorist attack was an attempt to harm values such as tolerance, trust and togetherness, warning that confusion over what constitutes "political Islam" could lead to discrimination against the believers.

"Everybody understands something different from the expression “political Islam” because it has not been defined,” he said. “First of all, the term needs to be explained...'political Islam' and Islam as a religion must be clearly distinguished.”