After Vienna Attack, Austria to Ban 'Political Islam'

Austria announced, on Wednesday, its intention to create a criminal offense called political Islam, as part of a set of measures aimed at fighting terrorism, after the Vienna attack last week.

The Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's Cabinet agreed on a wide range of anti-terrorism measures aimed at plugging security flaws identified after the deadly attack.

“We will create a criminal offense called ‘political Islam’ in order to be able to take action against those who are not terrorists themselves, but who create the breeding ground for them," Kurz wrote on Twitter after the Cabinet meeting.

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The proposals include the ability to keep inpiduals convicted of terror crimes behind bars for life, electronic monitoring of those convicted of terrorism-related crimes upon their release, and the criminalization of religiously motivated political extremism.

Kurz indicated that the measures, which will be brought before parliament in December for a vote, take a two-pronged approach, targeting suspected terrorists and their dominant ideology.

On Nov. 2 attack, four people were killed along with the gunman. Twenty others, including a police officer, were wounded.

Authorities have identified the attacker as 20-year-old Kujtim Fejzulai, who holds dual citizenship from Austria and North Macedonia. He had a previous conviction for trying to join ISIS in Syria and had been given early release in December.