Islamist Attack in Germany Ahead of Local Elections

After two terror attacks last weekend, one in Germany and another in France, Europe is bracing for an upsurge of ethnic terrorism.

Germany has one of the most welcoming asylum laws. The federal constitution that was coined after WWII, with the best intentions, stipulates that “the right of asylum refers on the one hand to the fundamental right to asylum for those politically persecuted, which is enshrined in the Constitution. But it also includes all other national and international protection rights for threatened people - such as refugee law and so-called subsidiary protection.” (NDR state broadcaster) This was once again up for popular debate as another islamist attack on a gathering took place this weekend in the German city of Solingen, just north of Cologne.

Solingen was celebrating the 650th birthday of the town, and the town filled the streets with entertainment under the theme “Vielfalt” which means diversity. The party came to an early end already Friday evening, because a madman attacked at least 9 people with a knife. Three died from the stabbing, one woman and two men, all mid-aged.

Anti-immigration demonstration in Solingen, Facebook

It is one of a succession of stabbings and other attacks by migrants, some declared islamists, others not, this summer in European cities. Solingen is just the latest in Germany, there have been others. Unrelated trivia, but Solingen happens to be known for producing of some of the best knifes (Zwilling brand), but it is noticeable that stabbing seems to be the preferred method for lonely wolves types of terrorists, as guns are not easily available in most EU countries.

In July, a young man ran amok at a children’s dance party in Britain and killed three. “Two children have been killed and nine injured, six critically, in a "ferocious" knife attack at a children's dance workshop. Two adults are also in a critical condition after being stabbed as they tried to protect children at the Taylor Swift-themed event on Hart Street in Southport, Merseyside Police said. A 17-year-old boy, from Banks in Lancashire, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.” BBC

Demonstrations and riots arose in Southport and elsewhere, partly because of fabricated claims on social media that the attacker was a named illegal immigrant, which was untrue. The arrested suspect was a teenager, born in Britain to Rwandan parents that had legally immigrated.

Bernie Spofforth, a well-known anti-lockdown campaigner was arrested by the police for spreading and possibly inventing the false rumor and the British authorities announced it would go hard after people who published texts that incited to violence. Freedom of speech groups have criticized this fast-track approach and added it to a list of current breakdowns of citizens rights to free expression and other limitations.

In France, there was a mass stabbing attack at the Gare de Lyon in Paris, where “One person suffered serious stomach wounds during the stabbings at the Gare de Lyon on Saturday morning. A suspect is in custody. Police say he is a Malian national who presented an Italian driving licence to officers. There have been several knife attacks in Paris in the recent past. In December a tourist was killed and two others wounded near the Eiffel Tower. In January last year, six people were injured after a stabbing at the capital's Gare du Nord. Police say the suspect in Saturday's attack set fire to his rucksack, before attacking people with a knife and a hammer. He was tackled by transport security officers and bystanders. Officials quoted by Le Parisien newspaper describe the alleged attacker as a 32-year-old asylum-seeker who has been legally living in Italy since 2016.” BBC

A few days ago, there was an arson and bombing attack on a synagogue in the French city of Nîmes, where police was injured. The high number of attacks is leading the population to question politicians’ ability to keep the situation under control.

The stabbing in Solingen was claimed as the responsibility of Islamic State and there were unusually strong political reactions to that in Germany.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility on Saturday for a knife attack in the western German city of Solingen that killed three people on Friday. The militant group said in a statement on its Telegram account that the attack was carried out by one of its members "in revenge for Muslims in Palestine and everywhere". It did not immediately provide any evidence for its assertion and it was not clear how close any relationship between the attacker and Islamic State was. Aug 24 (Reuters)

The press revealed that the attacker was due for deportation because his asylum application had been rejected. Even the very tolerant German approach to asylum seekers had not resulted in any findings that he was politically persecuted in Syria, and thus found that his asylum application was baseless.

The following days, it was also published that the the expulsion ruling by the courts had not been executed upon for more than a year. That caused more public dissatisfaction with the ruling coalition under Chancellor Scholz, because of ineffective administration of the asylum laws and lack of control with potentially dangerous people. Obviously, a rejected asylum seeker will often carry some grievances against the host country.

Reacting to this atrocity, many things happened during the last few days.

• Scholz and other politicians gathered in Solingen to inspect the site and express their condolences and support for the victims and their families.

• In many places all over the country, different kinds of town celebrations were cancelled, postponed or curtailed.

• ‘Mourning demonstrations’ in Solingen and other places.

• Politicians are weary where this may lead, especially because there are local parliament (Landtag) elections coming up this Monday and later in September. East Germany, the former Soviet-block DDR, is expected to turn further to the right and support a number of anti-immigration parties.

Read the upcoming post about a central candidate in the East German elections, the former communist Sahra Wagenknecht, now heading her own ‘left-conservative’ party. Coming soon!