Pope Francis has criticized anti-Islam propaganda in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in Europe claimed by the Daesh Takfiri terrorists, saying it is �unfair� and wrong to identify Islam with violence and terrorism.

�I don't think it is right to identify Islam with violence. This is not just and it is not true,� he told reporters on Sunday.

The pontiff was responding to a question about the killing on July 26 of an 85-year-old Roman Catholic priest by knife-wielding attackers who burst into a church service in western France.

The attackers�forced the priest to his knees and slit his throat. Daesh claimed responsibility for the brutal attack.

The pope said every religion has its �small group of fundamentalists."

"We have them too,� he said, adding if he had to talk about �Islamic violence, he had to talk about Christian violence� too.

The leader of the Catholic church said Europe should look closer to home, describing social injustice and idolatry of money as�among the prime causes of terrorism.

�Terrorism grows when there is no other option and when money is made a god and it, instead of the person, is put at the center of the world economy,� he said.

�I ask myself how many young people that we Europeans have left devoid of ideals, who do not have work, then they turn to drugs and alcohol or enlist in ISIS [Daesh],� he added.

European states have been grappling with a growing number of their citizens trying to join terrorist groups in the Middle East over the past few years.

Earlier in February,�the European Union�s criminal intelligence agency said that up to 5,000 trained members of the Daesh terrorist group are at large in Europe.

By Press TV