DNA Exclusive: Terrorist attack in Vienna cautions European nations against 'liberalism'

New Delhi: After France, another European country Austria witnessed a terrorist attack in its capital city Vienna on Monday evening. Reports say that the attack was carried out at six different places claiming at least 4 lives, including two men and two women, injuring around 15 people. The injured people are undergoing treatment in different hospitals and the condition of at least 7 remains critical. 

The Vienna police are learned to have killed one terrorist involved in the attack. The police, which fears that more than one terrorist was involved in the shootout, has so far arrested at least 4 suspects. 

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, however, said, "It is now confirmed that attack was clearly an Islamist terror attack," adding "It was an attack out of hatred, hatred for our fundamental values, hatred for our way of life, hatred for our democracy in which all people have equal rights and dignity."

Austria's Interior (Home) Minister Karl Nehammer reportedly stated that the dead assailant, who had roots in the Balkan nation of North Macedonia, had a previous conviction under a law that punishes membership in terrorist organizations.

The attacker, named Kujtim Fejzulai, was sentenced to 22 months in prison in April 2019 as he had tried to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State group. Under juvenile law, the attacker was granted early release in December.

One of the six places attacked in Vienna also included a Jewish prayer place, hence, some people termed it as a hardcore Islamic attack against Jews. The terrorist whose pictures are currently viral on social media shows the attacker firing at people on a road, while two others shooting at the terrorist were policemen.

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In Austria, the lockdown has been reimposed since Monday midnight to prevent the COVID-19 infection. The people had come out to the streets in large numbers ahead of the lockdown to spend time with their friends and relatives, but there was chaos on the roads of Vienna just a few hours ahead of the lockdown. 

After this attack, about 1,000 policemen gathered near the Jewish prayer site and tried to surround the terrorists and killed while launching the search operation for the remaining suspects. Currently, Army personnel has been deployed across Austria and people have been asked to remain vigilant.

Last Thursday, a terrorist attack took place in Paris, near the city of Nice, in which three people were killed. The only difference was that the Islamic attackers in France had a knife to behead the people, while in Vienna, the terrorist had a rifle and pistol in his hand and was firing at people indiscriminately. 

The terrorist attack has invited global condemnation. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said he was saddened by the dastardly terror attack in Vienna and asserted that India stands with Austria during this tragic time. 

In a tweet, PM Modi said, "Deeply shocked and saddened by the dastardly terror attacks in Vienna," adding "India stands with Austria during this tragic time. My thoughts are with the victims and their families." 

Replying to the Prime Minister's tweet, the Austrian Chancellor said, "Thank you very much for your kind words of solidarity and support! This means a lot to us in these difficult times. Austria will not be intimidated by such horrific acts of terror." He added, "Together we will defend our open societies and democratic values." 

Austria is a small country in Central Europe that borders nations like Germany, Italy, and Hungary. After this error attack, all the European nations have reacted strongly. 

French President Emmanuel Macron has tweeted that he is with the people of Austria in this hour of grief. Macron is just 42 years old, while Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is just 34 years old. He added, "This is our Europe. Our enemies must know with whom they are dealing. We will not retreat."

Britain, the US, Canada, Germany, and the European Union have condemned this attack. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even went as far as to say that the whole world would have to unite against brutal Islamic terrorism

If you recall that in the year 2015, when war was going on in Syria, Austria was one of the European countries that opened its borders for Syrian refugees. Austrian people took out rallies in Vienna and welcomed these refugees and also issued statements to highlight it. Today, the same Austrian people are paying the price.

Earlier, when terrorist attacks took place in India, most of the western countries failed to support India, and many times they stated that people of a particular religion are being suppressed, and terrorism was a natural reaction to that. Now, the whole world is gradually realising the dangers of radical Islam.

The reasons behind this terrorist attack are under investigation, but it is being guessed that it is on the lines of the attacks in France, and the same radical Islamic thinking is responsible for it. 

Notably, three leaders including Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and former Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohammad, are said to be mainly responsible for promoting intolerance of radical Islam. Imran Khan has openly opposed France, while Erdoğan described the French President as mentally ill and Mahathir Mohammed instigated Muslims to have the right to kill people in France.

In many parts of the world, Muslims are shedding the blood of their own brethren in the name of Jihad. Experts believe that if Muslims continued their battle against other religions, the world order may soon witness a fundamental change.