Berlin Pride Alleged Attacker Was Unwilling to Deradicalize, Expert Tells DW | DW News

July 29, 2026 | The alleged Berlin Pride killer showed no willingness to deradicalize, according to the organization that attempted to counsel him. DW spoke to Cornelia Lotthammer, director of the Violence Prevention Network, the court-appointed NGO handling the case of 21-year-old Abdul B. Days before he allegedly attacked Berlin’s LGBTQ+ parade, Lotthammer’s team had already decided he was unfit for counselling. She says a court could have decided to send him to deradicalization training in prison.

Abdul B., a German-born citizen, had been convicted for acts of extremism, including attempting to join the so-called Islamic State. In May 2026, a Berlin court sentenced him to almost two years in prison, but released him on preliminary probation. On July 25, he allegedly drove a van into a crowd near Berlin’s Christopher Street Day celebrations and then attacked people with a blade, killing one person and injuring 29 others. A day later he was tracked down and shot dead by police.

DW’s Pablo Foley Elias spoke to Cornelia Lotthammer about Abdul B.’s case, the causes of extremism, and how it needs to be addressed.


These people get themselves into a hell of a mess with this because they don't understand the root of the problem: Islam! Forget Islamism! These so-called Islamists are in love with Islam and their prophet. A so-called "Islamist" is merely a devout, practising, fundamentalist Muslim following uncompromisingly the precepts and tenets of his faith. When will these people get it? How many more people will have to be killed before they give up on their airy-fairy notions? And of course, this person was unwilling to deradicalize, for to concede to deradicalization would be tantamount to giving up on his faith!

Germany is never going to be able to solve its problems of homophobia in the Muslim community with this 'artsy-fartsy' outlook and talk! Don't confuse and conjoin the radical problems found in other groups with the "Queerfeindlichkeit' found in the Muslim community, otherwise you will never find solutions to the problem. The radicalization caused by the so-called hyper-masculinity trend is something quite different, and has to be treated quite differently. — © Mark Alexander

'Christmas Bomb Plotters Were Radicalised in Jail'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Members of an alleged terrorist cell that was said to have been plotting Christmas suicide attacks in London were radicalised in jail, it has been claimed.

A neighbour of three men arrested in Cardiff said that, after they were convicted of theft and drugs offences, they "went to prison as petty criminals and came out expressing extreme views".

Twelve men, mainly British nationals of Bangladeshi origin, were still being questioned by anti-terrorism officers last night following co-ordinated raids in the Welsh capital, London, Stoke-on-Trent and Birmingham on Monday.

Sources said the gang was planning a "spectacular" attack on banks, shops and "iconic" sites in London. >>> Duncan Gardham, Peter Hutchison, John Bingham and Richard Savill | Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Government Has Neglected Threat of Radicalisation, Says Grieve
THE GUARDIAN: Shadow home secretary says government has been 'lax on fanatical preachers, silent on sharia courts'

The government was accused today by the Conservatives of being "silent" on sharia courts, which must be given no authority over criminal and family law matters in Britain.

Dominic Grieve, the shadow home secretary, made the criticism as he warned that the government has neglected the threat of radicalisation.

"For all its tough talk on terrorism, the government is dropping the ball on security and radicalisation," Grieve said.

"Lax on fanatical preachers. Silent on sharia courts. Let me make our position clear. Sharia courts can be given no authority over criminal and family law matters in Britain. Our law must reign supreme. The next Conservative government will make sure it does."

Grieve, who told the Guardian last week that multiculturalism has downplayed the identity of "long-term inhabitants" and failed to provide a coherent identity for second and third generation immigrants, believes that sharia courts can have a role. He likens them to the Jewish Beth Din, which are acceptable because their rulings do not conflict with English law.

The shadow home secretary said that Jewish people are entitled to have "arbitration under Jewish customary law".

He added: "The same can perfectly properly comply to sharia law as long as the consequences are also not repugnant to English justice. That's very different from saying that you should allow sharia law to be applied to Muslims in Britain on say crime or domestic violence or anything else ... Somebody has been trying to suggest that they have that sort of imprimatur of respectability. And we have to be quite clear that we all live under one legal system." Government Has Neglected Threat of Radicalisation, Says Grieve >>> Nicholas Watt, chief political correspondent | September 30, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
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Germany’s Problem with Growing Radicalization of Its Muslim Community
Photo of radical Muslims demonstrating in Düsseldorf against the Danish cartoons of Muhammad courtesy of SpiegelOnline International
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: A new study commissioned by Germany's Interior Ministry warns of a growing threat from the radicalization of Muslims in the country. Six percent of Muslims in Germany support violence in the name of Islam, the authors write.

A new study released by Germany's Interior Ministry has added new fuel to the debate about integration of Muslims in Germany, with the report warning about the danger of radicalization of Muslims.

According to the study, which was published Tuesday, around 40 percent of Muslims surveyed had a "fundamentalist orientation," which the authors defined as a strongly religious worldview and moral values. Interior Ministry Warns of Radicalization of Muslims >>>

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)