In such polarised times, there is a strong temptation to interpret acts of violence through the lens of one’s own biases. The attack on a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg yesterday evening, which killed five and injured over 200 more, has revealed this impulse in the starkest terms. Already, attention has been drawn from the Right to the background of the alleged perpetrator as an asylum seeker from Saudi Arabia, and from some on the Left to his support of Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Importantly, the main suspect, a 50-year-old Saudi national and psychotherapist named Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, was less a “lone wolf” than a “known wolf”. Not only did Saudi authorities repeatedly warn their German counterparts that he was posting online about his desire to kill civilians, Abdulmohsen had also contacted prominent ex-Muslims such as Yasmine Mohammed and Ali Utlu. Both Mohammed and Utlu suspected he was a Saudi agent spying on ex-Muslims and dissidents, with the latter claiming today: “He acted ex-Muslim on the outside, while in direct messages he threatened ex-Muslims, especially Saudi women who had fled.”
The “Islamophobic” and “ex-Muslim” Magdeburg terrorist shouts “Allahu Akbar” during his arrest. pic.twitter.com/oyPe0T6chi
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) December 22, 2024
Last night …
BREAKING:
Protests against mass-immigration erupt in Germany tonight after the Magdeburg terror attack.
The protesters are chanting:
“Deportations now” pic.twitter.com/nzA2VdFdFo
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) December 21, 2024
