MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Paris terrorist attacks have damaged attitudes toward Muslims in Europe, highlighting however the diversity of people's views of Europe's Muslim population, Austria's Islamic authority spokeswoman told Sputnik on Thursday.
"The attitude [toward Muslims] has changed and changed for the worse. But any aggravation offers a potential chance, as similar situations clearly highlight diversity of stances," Carla Amina Baghajati, spokeswoman for the Islamic Religious Authority of Austria (IGGiO), said.
On Wednesday, the Austrian parliament passed a bill introducing a ban on the foreign financing of mosques, a move which came amid increased radicalization of Europeans who are travelling to Iraq and Syria to join extremist groups.
The string of attacks in Paris in early January, which left 17 people dead, raised concern in some European countries over a massive influx of Muslim immigrants.
The European Union hosts about 13 million of Muslim immigrants, who live mainly in Germany and France. According to the Pew Research Center, France, Britain and Germany view Muslim immigrants more favorably than other European countries.
