A terrible terrorist attack happened on Friday at the fair in Magdeburg. A rented car, driven by a man, drove into the crowd at high speed, as a result of which five people were killed and about two hundred were injured. The thief was arrested. It turned out that he is a native of Saudi Arabia, who had been living in Germany since 2006, had difficult relations with law enforcement officers, expressed radical views in the media, and demonstrated an Islamophobic attitude. The motives for committing a terrible crime are currently unknown. The German media put forward versions and assumptions based on their own investigations. Saudi publications are also not left out. Commenting on the terrorist attack in Germany, they point out that they warned the German law enforcement officers about the danger of Taleb al-Abdulmohsen.
What do the German media write about the suspect?
Publication “Deutschlandfunk” writes, that he is a 50-year-old psychiatrist from Bernburg, who was born in the Saudi city of Khufuf. In 2006, he moved to Germany to study, and 10 years later he received refugee status because, according to him, he received death threats in Saudi Arabia for rejecting Islam. After that, he actively helped refugees, particularly women from Saudi Arabia, by providing advice on how to escape, and he ran a website that published information about the German asylum system.
In later years, his views apparently became more radical. By according to the publication “Spiegel”, he openly expressed sympathy for the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) and intended to create an “Academy for former Muslims” in cooperation with this party. In a recent interview on an anti-Islamic American blog, he claimed that German authorities are conducting a “covert operation” to persecute ex-Muslims from Saudi Arabia while harboring Syrian jihadists.
The motives of his actions have not yet been clarified, and investigators are checking whether personal, political or mental factors influenced his actions.
What is known about the criminal from Arab sources?
Arabi21, an independent Arabic online publication, whose editorial office is located outside the Arab countries, tells the story of Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, as he knows.
The criminal comes from the village of Al-Qara in the province of El-Ehsa, where the majority of the population is Shia. Many years ago, he emigrated to Germany, declared his atheism, and since then has always expressed hostility towards Islam.
The story of Taleb al-Abdulmohsen began with a family conflict with his ex-wife, whom he accused of infidelity. He challenged the decision of the Shia Jafarite court, which granted a divorce in her favor, accusing Taleb of abuse, and dismissed his accusations against her.
Later, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen admitted on his account on the “X” platform that he had abused his wife. Despite this, he became a coordinator for Saudi girls who fled to Europe. Saudi opposition women reported that al-Abdulmohsen offered to assist in processing their migration documents, but he turned out to be a strange and “uncomfortable” person.
Taleb A. openly declared his hostility to Islam, and also opposed the reception of Muslim migrants in Germany. He was also an ardent supporter of the Israeli occupation.
Despite the fact that he has lived in Germany for about 20 years, al-Abdulmohsen has not received German citizenship and only has a residence permit.
Taleb A., who studied psychiatry and worked at a specialized center for the rehabilitation of drug-addicted criminals in the city of Bernburg since March of this year, stopped going to work at the end of October.
Interestingly, al-Abdulmohsen made threats, which he subsequently carried out, and published hostile messages against German society due to what he believed to be insufficient support for applications from Saudi Arabian runaways.
In 2019, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen participated in a series of media interviews, declaring his activities as an activist helping Saudi apostates to emigrate to Europe.
In July 2019, in a BBC documentary, the man spoke about the creation of the “We Are Saudis.net” platform after becoming an atheist and seeking asylum in Germany.
In all interviews, he sharply criticized Islam. In June of the same year, in a commentary for the German newspaper “FAZ”, al-Abdulmohsen said: “There is no good Islam.”
German law enforcement officers did not respond to Saudi Arabia’s warning
The website of the Al-Arabiya channel, with reference to the German edition “Der Spiegel”, reported that Saudi Arabia had three times appealed to Germany with warnings about the danger that Taleb al-Abdulmohsen could pose. However, these warnings were ignored.
The police of the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt had previously launched an investigation into threats posted by al-Abdulmohsen on the “X” platform. However, after analysis, the law enforcement officers concluded that these threats did not constitute a real threat and closed the case.
Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadas correspondent added, that last year one of the Saudi women warned the German authorities about al-Abdulmohsen’s intentions to commit violence against the Germans. However, the German migration service did not respond to her statement.
The sources also said that al-Abdulmohsen fled to Germany two decades ago. He was stripped of his citizenship in Saudi Arabia, warning German authorities of his potential danger and calling for his extradition for trial.
Saudi edition “Al-Madinah” reports that a few years ago al-Abdulmohsen’s family made a public statement condemning his rejection of Islam and brazen criticism of the Koran and the Prophet Muhammad. In a statement, the family emphasized their rejection of his twisted ideas and radical views.
The “threat assessment” was carried out incorrectly
Perhaps the police misjudged the danger of the suspect, despite the appropriate warnings. Jochen Kopelke, head of the Federal Police Union (GdP), in a comment for the publication WORLD stated: “The fact that the German security authorities receive information from abroad or see threats on social networks does not at all mean that the police can and should process all this at once.” According to him, the daily work of the police is burdened by data protection issues, sources of information from abroad and legal restrictions. “This has to end. We need wider powers and more resources to prevent serious crime“, Kopelke emphasized.
Even last year, as the publication learned WORLD from law enforcement sources, a “threat assessment” was conducted related to Taleb al-Abdulmohsen. The findings, drawn up by the Criminal Directorate of the Land in Magdeburg together with the Federal Criminal Police Office, stated that the man did not pose a “specific threat”. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Saxony-Anhalt was also involved in the process, but it did not start its own investigations.
Rainer Wendt, head of the German Police Union, expressed a similar opinion. In the comment for WORLD he said:
“The question remains whether warnings before the crime was committed were sufficient grounds for police action. The police can’t even keep tabs on all the Islamist terrorists they know are ready to commit terrorist attacks“.
Wendt stressed that there is a lack of staffing to do so, as well as the authority in place needed to respond appropriately.
Arabic news publication “Al-Marsada” draws attention to the reaction of Elon Musk.
He commented on the decision of the German authorities to refuse the extradition of Taleb al-Abdulmohsen to Saudi Arabia before he carried out the attack. Musk quips that the refusal was motivated by human rights concerns, as there was a threat that the Saudi trial could violate international standards of justice.
Mask wrote in a tweet on the “X” platform: “Wow, this is crazy, and whoever refused to turn in the killer deserves to be severely punished.” Before that, Musk too named Scholz as an “incompetent fool” who committed a terrorist attack.
This is not the first time that Musk allows himself to interfere in the political life of Germany, where parliamentary elections are due to take place soon. Recently, he called on Scholz to resign and said that the only party to save the Germans should be the Alternative for Germany.
As reported According to Suspilne, German Interior Minister Nancy Feser said the suspect’s Islamophobia was obvious, but she refrained from commenting on the motives behind his actions.
Friedrich Merz, the leader of the opposition Christian Democrats and the main contender for the position of the next chancellor, cautioned against jumping to conclusions:
“The terrorist attack that happened in Magdeburg yesterday does not fit into the usual picture“.
