In the aftermath of the attack that left at least five dead and over 200 injured at the Magdeburg Christmas market, Germany discovers the profile of the perpetrator. Taleb al-Abdulmohsen is a Saudi Shiite doctor, a political refugee since 2006, and a permanent resident since 2016, known for his strong positions on Islam. During the 1990s, he declared himself an «atheist», which led to his persecution in his country. Investigators reveal that he even shifted towards the far right before taking action. On Friday, driving his car, he sped into the crowd in the pedestrian area before being apprehended by the police. The motive of Taleb al-Abdulmohsen is not yet defined, especially since the authorities do not know him to have any behavior indicating his religious radicalization. According to them, he acted alone. In his recent social media posts, the accused promised notably to «avenge» Saudi asylum seekers rejected by his host country. During a press conference, the German Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, stated that the suspect was «islamophobic». For years, the 50-year-old national has given interviews, becoming known as a figure among Saudi exiles. Reported by 7sur7, he declared in 2019 to FAZ to be «the most aggressive critic of Islam in history». Setting himself the mission of supporting his «persecuted» compatriots, he stated to the German media that there was no «good Islam». «In an interview with the BBC the same year, he described himself this time as an 'activist' who could not live his atheism safely in Saudi Arabia», recalls the same source. Also cited in 2019 by Der Spiegel, he claimed to have helped «other people to escape» and obtain asylum in Germany, or even in Australia. His publications have become increasingly violent since last summer. After accusing Germany of not providing sufficient protection to asylum seekers, he accused the country of «Islamizing Europe». These statements resonated in the German far-right sphere, with several members being followers of the accused's accounts. On his pages, the man began sharing conspiratorial photomontages, as well as «videos of the Austrian far-right political activist Martin Sellner». In line with the Islamophobic AfD party, he called the German police «promoters of Islamism». Taleb went so far as to accuse the host country's authorities of «dirty tactics» targeting him because of his «activism». «The left is crazy. We need the AfD to protect the police from themselves», he notably argued.
