The Islamist attacker Christopher Street Day (CSD) in Berlin, Abdul B., according to the government, belonged to the German capital at times a Salafist group who recruited more followers. This is what the Interior Senator – roughly the Interior Minister of the Federal State of Berlin -, Iris Spranger, said in the Interior Committee of the House of Representatives, the Berlin Parliament. Since 2021, he has noticed an increasing process of radicalization.
The Berlin Office for the Protection of the Constitution was Abdul B. therefore known since November 2021. Since then he has moved in the Salafist scene, said Spranger. He has been noticed by the police since 2019 for offenses such as bodily harm, fraud, robbery and insults.
Spranger pointed out that 1,250 people in Berlin belonged to the Salafist scene. Of these, 350 are violence-oriented. According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, there are a total of 2,590 Islamists in Berlin.
Senator: Salafist scene is becoming more visible again
The Salafist scene has retreated into the private sphere and onto the Internet in recent years, but has recently become much more visible again, said the senator. In the past two years, more trips to IS combat areas have been planned or promoted. “There is still a high level of danger in the area of Islamist terrorism.”
Spranger promised that the entire issue of the terrorist attack would be examined in order to create complete transparency. “But we all know that we cannot prevent such events with absolute certainty.”