His name is Taleb Al Abdulmohsen, the 50-year-old Saudi doctor arrested for the attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg. The man drove a rented BMW into the crowd, causing at least four deaths, including a child, and 68 injuries, 15 of them seriously. Having fled Saudi Arabia in 2006 due to religious persecution for his atheism, he lived in Bernburg, in the Salzland district, with a permanent residence permit and worked in a psychiatric facility for drug-addicted prisoners. Known for his anti-Islam positions, he is a conspiracy theorist, fan of Elon Musk and supports controversial figures such as Alex Jones and Tommy Robinson. Despite calling himself a leftist, he posted extremist content on social media, criticizing the Islamization of Europe and supporting the narratives of right-wing extremists.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Al Abdulmohsen is an anti-Islam activist who, after the October 7 attacks, had shared pro-Israel content on social media. According to the newspaper, the man ran a website and several social media channels dedicated to denouncing Islam and discussing women's rights. Furthermore, he reportedly expressed support for the far-right, anti-immigration German party AfD. Saudi sources, cited by Reuters, revealed that the authorities in Riyadh had warned Germany about the danger of the individual. After the attack, police conducted searches in Bernburg, where the suspect lived, the German website MDR reported. Tamara Zieschang, Interior Minister of the Land Sachsen-Anhalt, confirmed that the arrested man lived in the district of Salzland. “From our information – explains the president of the region Reiner Haseloff -, it is a man who acted alone, who was arrested, so there is no further danger for the city, but the investigations continue”.
Confirming that Taleb Al Abdulmohsen was not considered an Islamist by the security services comes an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in 2019 in which he defined himself as “the most aggressive critic of Islam there has ever been in history”. An atheist, he had requested asylum in Germany after being persecuted in Saudi Arabia as an “infidel”. He claimed to have a mission: to help other Saudis escape and gain protection in Germany or Australia. At the same time, it fueled baseless conspiracy theories that reflected a profound sense of persecution. According to La Stampa, Taleb Al Abdulmohsen is linked to an American conspiracy site, the Rair Foundation, which promotes alleged “alternative facts” to defend the Judeo-Christian roots of the West. The site gave space to the Magdeburg attacker, publishing an interview on 12 December in which the Saudi doctor, a refugee in Germany, denounced the “Islamisation of Germany”. Al Abdulmohsen accused German authorities of aiding terrorists and discriminating against former Muslims like himself, revealing alleged abuses by the German state, including “sexual crimes against female asylum seekers” and plots to deport Saudi refugees.
Until a few days before the attack, Rair considered Al Abdulmohsen a hero, even mentioning him in a 2019 BBC interview in which he spoke of his commitment to helping people escape Sharia persecution. However, after the massacre, the foundation changed its position, accusing the doctor of being a “fake ex-Muslim” who would have used Rair to avoid arousing suspicion while preparing the attack. Al Abdulmohsen, a supporter of the German ultra-right AfD, attacked the crowds at the Christmas markets with the same method as the jihadist attacks he declared he wanted to fight.
Not only that. A few days before the attack, Al Abdulmohsen had published several videos in English with disjointed content on X (formerly Twitter). Among these, he accused Germany of being responsible “for the killing of Socrates” and reported the theft of a USB stick from his mailbox. In his messages he stated: “The government is criminal and does not protect me. The police are criminals. I hold the German nation and the German citizens responsible. They want to destroy our lives.” His cover image on
Months ago, a user of the platform reported some of his posts, later deleted, in which he referred to a possible attack plan. However, the complaint was not followed up on. Among the deleted contents, a disturbing message stood out: “I assure you that 100% revenge will come soon. Even if it costs me my life.” In another, he threatened: “Germany will have to pay the price. A huge price.” Last May, he wrote: “I seriously expect to die this year. Reason: I will do justice at all costs. Germany wants war.”
According to sources, Saudi Arabia had warned the German authorities about the danger of the man, requesting his extradition, but the request was not accepted as Al Abdulmohsen enjoyed protection in Germany due to the persecution suffered in his country.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser are expected in Magdeburg today. The attack, which occurred in the region governed by the CDU, is part of a tense political context: there are only two months left until early elections, where the anti-migrant ultra-right is seen as the favourite. An apparently desperate gesture, the result of serious hardship, is thus loaded with political implications.
