From Asylum Seeker to Terrorist: Munich Attack Exposed

Submitted by on

A young Afghan bodybuilder was arrested in Germany and admitted to deliberately driving into a crowd, prosecutors said, in what German authorities believe was an attack motivated by Islamist extremism.

Two people, a 37-year-old woman, and her two-year-old daughter, died of severe injuries after the suspect, identified as 24-year-old Farhad Noori, rammed a Mini Cooper into a group of members of the Verdi trade union during a protest on Seidlstrasse in Munich at around 10:30 AM.

At least 34 other victims were injured during the attack.

The Central Office for Combating Extremism and Terrorism in Bavaria and a special commission are investigating the attack. Farhad was arrested by police soon after the incident, which took place a mile away from the venue where the Munich Security Conference was held.

US Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Germany on the same day the attack took place. However, authorities do not believe there is a connection between the event and the attack.

The Public Prosecutor General's Office in Munich believes that the perpetrator appears to have been motivated by Islamism. Senior Public Prosecutor Gabriele Tilmann said Farhad shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is great in Arabic) after the attack.

"He has admitted that he deliberately drove into the participants of the demonstration," Tilmann told a news conference.

"I'm very cautious about making hasty judgments, but based on everything we know at the moment, I would venture to speak of an Islamist motivation for the crime," she added.

However, Tilmann said there was no evidence to suggest Farhad is part of an Islamist network.

Born in Kabul in 2001, Harhad arrived in Germany at the end of 2016, but the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees rejected his asylum application. Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann noted that while his asylum application had “probably” been rejected, German authorities could not deport him to Afghanistan at the time because of security concerns, so he was allowed to continue to stay in Germany.

Farhad was given a residence permit in 2021. He completed an apprenticeship and worked as a store detective. He was a successful bodybuilder with tens of thousands of followers on social media and gave the impression of a well-integrated young man.

The Munich prosecutor’s office told Die Zeit that there were "indications of an extremist background” in Farhad. Der Spiegel said Farjad published Islamist posts before carrying out the attack. In one post a few days before the incident, Farhad reportedly wrote, “Eradicate all those who are bad to Islam.”

 

Without explicitly naming the suspect, German police said during a Friday morning press conference that the suspect “gave an explanation that I would summarize as religious motivation” when questioned about the attack.

Police also do not believe that the victims, members of the Verdi trade union, were specifically targeted.

"At the moment, we are actually assuming that the target group here, that the victims from the ranks of this Verdi demonstration, were more of a coincidence," Herrman told reporters, according to Die Zeit. "But, of course, that also needs to be investigated."

See More Atheist News

If you like our posts, subscribe to the Atheist Republic newsletter to get exclusive content delivered weekly to your inbox. Also, get the book "Why There is No God" for free.

Click Here to Subscribe

Donating = Loving

Heart Icon

Bringing you atheist articles and building active godless communities takes hundreds of hours and resources each month. If you find any joy or stimulation at Atheist Republic, please consider becoming a Supporting Member with a recurring monthly donation of your choosing, between a cup of tea and a good dinner.

Or make a one-time donation in any amount.