At the memorial service after the attack in Magdeburg on Saturday, the rescuers were thanked for their efforts. Meanwhile, neo-Nazis marched through Magdeburg. Instead of showing compassion for the victims and their families, the crime is being exploited by the right. True to the motto: what does not fit, is made to fit.
On Friday at 7:07 p.m., the last hate message from the amok driver Taleb A. from Magdeburg went online on X (formerly Twitter). He speaks English with an Arabic accent: “My name is Taleb al-A., I am a doctor, a psychiatrist and I work in Germany,” the 50-year-old introduces himself.
Between conspiracy and right-wing extremism
Critics of religion still persecute him today, he says in the video. “The nation that today actively persecutes critics of Islam to destroy their lives is the German nation.” He would like to tell a story, because Socrates was also executed in ancient Greece for his criticism of religion.
As confused and bizarre as his arguments are in his specially created echo chambers on the social platform X, his motive turns out to be much more complex than initially believed and challenges even experts.
“After 25 years in this ‘business’ you think nothing can surprise you anymore. But a 50-year-old Saudi ex-Muslim who lives in East Germany, loves the AfD and wants to punish Germany for being tolerant of Islamists – that was really not on my agenda,” admits terror researcher Peter Neumann in The More the Perpetrator Taleb A. discovered how less certain he was that this was an Islamic attack: his “Twitter profile suggests the opposite.”
What we know today: Taleb A. is probably an Arab ex-Muslim and supporter of the AfD who applied for asylum in Germany as a critic of Islam. The 50-year-old was questioned on Saturday and is now in custody. “He commented on the motive for the crime,” the chief prosecutor, Horst Nopens, said in Magdeburg on Saturday afternoon. “Dissatisfaction with the treatment of Saudi Arabian refugees” could therefore have been the background to Taleb A.’s crime.
Hate and excitement instead of sadness
Right-wing circles deliberately hide details to integrate Taleb A. into their enemy image: for them he is an Arab seeking asylum. They advocate simple solutions where the problems are particularly complex. The fact that Taleb A. is an outspoken supporter of leading right-wing extremist actors and has repeatedly shared their messages and racist ideologies apparently goes unnoticed on social networks.
It is half past seven in the evening and on Saturday evening right-wing extremist slogans echo across the Willy-Brandt-Platz in Magdeburg. “Antifa bastards” and “remigration!” shouted a few young men, as German media reported. Small groups of people dressed in black always arrive at the central station. Two young migrants arrive at the train station and are jostled and pushed by men. Other right-wing extremists arrive and police rush to separate the attackers from the migrants.
A user
Hundreds of neo-Nazis hang around Magdeburg’s central station on Saturday evening. Earlier, a right-wing extremist demonstration in the city center had dispersed. The nationalist splinter party “Die Heimat”, formerly the NPD, backed by other right-wing extremist groups, called for the event to stoke anti-migrant sentiment. According to the police, more than two thousand people gathered under the motto ‘Demonstration against Terror’. Thorsten Heise, an activist with multiple criminal convictions and head of ‘Heimat’, gave the crowd rousing inflammatory speeches.
“Be the other side of the same coin”
The state network of migrant organizations in Saxony-Anhalt is shocked by the political instrumentalization of the attack on the Magdeburg Christmas market. “Magdeburg must not become a scene of right-wing agitation,” the network explained. Employees and members of the association have already confirmed several attacks, threats and insults.
In addition to the false information circulating in the right-wing media You hate this country and its values and are simply the other side of the same coin.”
Nowadays, sport is also taking a step back, pausing and remembering the victims. At a third division match on Saturday in Essen, a man wanted to use the silence to spread a racist slogan. The stadium responded decisively and unequivocally with shouts of ‘Nazis out’.
After the deadly car attack, the Public Prosecution Service applied for an arrest warrant against Taleb A. The car he was driving drove into a crowd at Magdeburg’s Christmas market at high speed on Friday evening. Four women aged 45, 52, 67 and 75 and a nine-year-old boy were killed, authorities said.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
