The 20th of December, only four days before Christmas, turned out to be a tragic day for many German citizens. A car driven by 50-year-old Taleb Al Abdulmohsen, plowed through the crowd gathered at the Christmas Market in Magdeburg. In what seems to be a terrorist attack has shattered the world. However, this is not the first time Christmas Market has been a scene of such an assault.
Abdulmohsen is a Saudi Arabian psychiatrist who has been living in Germany since 2006. The motive of the crime is not known, however, regarding his Islamophobic activity online, Abdulmohsen is very critical of Germany’s practices in accepting refugees. He openly supports the German far-right party, AFD (Alternative fur Deutschland), and its extremist anti-immigration policies. German Interior Minister Nancy Feaser said: “he acted like an Islamist terrorist although ideologically he was clearly an enemy of Islam”.
In summer 2024, Abdulmohsen already seemed to think about what was supposed to happen half a year later. He posted on his social media:
“Is there a path to justice in Germany without (…) randomly slaughtering German citizens?”
He clearly fulfilled his plan – at least 299 people were injured, and six were killed.
Christmas Markets are frequent targets of terrorist attacks. What appears to be a beautiful tradition is increasingly becoming a source of fear. These markets draw large crowds to enjoy festive traditions, food, and crafts and are therefore particularly vulnerable due to their open venues and the high number of attendees. A similar attack occurred in December 2016 – a truck was driven into the Berlin Christmas Market, leaving 12 people dead. Only two years later, in December 2018, an Islamist extremist Cherif Chekatt attacked people with a revolver and a knife in Strasbourg. Despite these tragic incidents, people come together to celebrate joy and the essence of togetherness every year. The question remains: can we truly feel safe? In such supposedly peaceful spaces, the shadow of fear lingers.
The violence displayed by the foreigners is a starting point for many debates. Conservatives often find their voice in these situations, presenting them as an argument for anti-immigration policies. This case is particularly absurd – Abdulmohsen supports AFD, the party that opposes immigration into Germany, while he is an immigrant himself. Because he abandoned his faith, he does not fit the description of a Muslim immigrant the party lies its focus on anymore. Yet again, attacking a Christmas Market, a place not connected to Islam in any way, forces us to reconsider his motives since they might not be only political.
These terrorist attacks put a shadow on many migrants seeking refuge in Europe. Donald Tusk, Polish Prime Minister pushes forward the newly introduced Migration Pact that is supposed to tighten visa and asylum laws. He says: “Poland is finally restoring control over borders and migration after years of chaos and corruption”. He believes it will protect the country from such terrorist attacks.
Under the veil of promising a safe future, we can see a populist right-wing narrative in his speech. It looks similar to the one used by the Hungarian authority, Viktor Orban – migration is portrayed as a threat that needs to be controlled. Does tightening migration laws stop terrorism though?
While this may create a perception of security, such measures do not eliminate terrorism. It is not about nationality, or religion, but comes from extremist views whose roots often lie in socio-economic factors. With the rise of right-wing ideology nationwide, also neo-Nazi parties and individuals have mobilized across Germany. Around 3,500 people gathered in Magdeburg two days after the attack, aggressively presenting their demands for migrants to be deported. The rally shouted: “Wake up Germany” – the same phrase that was used under Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany.
This paradoxical situation — a migrant with extremist Islamophobic views sparking outrage and leading other extremists to demand the deportation of migrants — altered Christmas celebrations for countless families. The irony of anti-immigrant individual who is himself a migrant became a catalyst for many political discussions about the laws and future of the international communities in Europe.
Comments