In November of this year, the suspected perpetrator in Magdeburg targeted Islamic-critical political scientist Hamed Abdel-Samad. As reported by the “Welt am Sonntag” based on the relevant news.
In this, the perpetrator demands that Abdel-Samad stop supporting the organization Secular Refugee Aid, “Because soon I will do something that will make the corrupt organization a topic of conversation for the world” the newspaper quotes a November 21st message.
Abdel-Samad told the “Welt am Sonntag” that: “The world is getting crazier. What really annoys me are the reactions from the right and the left.”
Both sides are trying to claim the act for themselves. “Even a secular person can, in a phase of confusion, use the motives and strategies of terrorists and Islamists to gain maximum attention. He copied the Berlin Christmas market attack in 2016 and used it for something that only exists in his mind: the alleged persecution of secular people, including him, by the German government and justice” the political scientist said.
According to the “Welt am Sonntag”, citing the asylum records of the suspected perpetrator, the perpetrator was born in Al Hafouf, a large city in eastern Saudi Arabia. He arrived in Germany in March 2006.
Initially, the Hamburg Foreigners’ Authority was responsible, and from 2020 the Salzlandkreis in Saxony-Anhalt. He lived in Bernburg, the district town, until most recently. In 2011, al-A. received a residence permit for the purpose of employment. He is a trained doctor with Arabic and English language skills. In April 2023, he received an unlimited residence permit.
The suspected perpetrator, according to the “Welt am Sonntag”, worked in the correctional facility with drug-addicted prisoners. He was four weeks on sick leave before the attack.