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Anti-immigrant anger rises after attack on German market
After the deadly attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, anti-immigrant sentiment is growing in Germany. Locals are calling for consequences and a stricter immigration policy.
Anti-immigrant anger rises after attack on German market
Magdeburg, Germany – It is a horrific scene unfolding in the heart of Magdeburg. The mulled wine stands, decorated with lights and tinsel, now stand empty and closed. On the cordoned-off market street, German police officers watch over the crime scene while forensic teams carefully examine the traces of the crime and clean the blood stains from the street.
The terrible incident
The Car stop at this Christmas market on Friday evening left at least five people dead, including a 9-year-old boy, and left the provincial town in a state of shock. At the entrance to the market, mourners light candles and lay flowers as many feel a deep sense of loss.
Emotional reactions
"I saw a lot of misery, a lot of people looking for answers. A lot of tears, confusion and extreme states of shock," said Corinna Pagels, an emergency psychologist who offers help to those affected. The sadness reminds people in Germany of a similar attack in 2016, when more than a dozen people were killed at a Christmas market in Berlin.
The perpetrator and his motives
At that time it was a 24-year-old Tunisian who tried to apply for asylum in Germany. This time it is Suspects but very different. Taleb Al Abdulmohsen, 50 years old, originally comes from Saudi Arabia and has lived in Germany since 2006, where he works as a psychiatric consultant in a local clinic. He is an avowed atheist and critic of Islam and described himself in a 2019 newspaper interview as "the most aggressive critic of Islam in history."
Social media and political expressions
On social media, Abdulmohsen voiced support for Germany's anti-immigrant AfD party and expressed his frustrations with the German government's perceived lax immigration policy, as well as Berlin's supposedly too warm relationship with the Saudi regime. Recent messages from him included threats. In August, Abdulmohsen declared that if Germany “wants to kill us, we will slaughter them or proudly go to prison.”
The public's reactions
For many people in Magdeburg, it doesn't matter that the latest Christmas market attacker doesn't fit the expected security profile. “Our politicians are responsible for this,” a local resident named Barbara told CNN as she paid her respects outside the police barricades. “I think responsibility for such acts should be clearly stated.” Another resident, Tom, added: “Now is the time to close our borders.”
Political consequences and the mood in Germany
Politicians from different political camps used the attack to attack the governing coalition. Both Far Left politician Sahra Wagenknecht asked Interior Minister Nancy Faeser “why so many notices and warnings were ignored in advance.” Meanwhile, the far-right AfD, which has gained significant ground this year, is organizing a rally in Magdeburg on Monday evening. The parliamentary leader of the AfD called for a special meeting on X to discuss security issues in the aftermath of the attack.
The gruesome attack on the Christmas market, although allegedly carried out by a self-proclaimed Islamophobe, is fueling angry anti-immigration sentiment in Germany.