Bloody attack in Solingen

German Muslims condemn “cowardly attack”

A woman lays flowers at the scene of the crime.

(Bild: APA Pool/Thomas Banneyer)

The Central Council of Muslims in Germany has condemned the suspected Islamist knife attack in Solingen, which left three people dead, "in the strongest possible terms". Hate and agitation should have no place in Germany. 

"This cowardly attack is a hostile and inhumane act against our free society," said a statement issued by the Central Council on Monday. "We must therefore do everything we can to protect the values on which our free, open and diverse society is based."

There must be no understanding for acts such as the one in Solingen: "Hate, incitement, extremism and radicalism of any kind must have no place in Germany," the Central Council declared. A 26-year-old Syrian has been arrested as a suspect in the Solingen attack. 

Political debate flares up
While the opposition parties CDU/CSU and AfD called for corrections to asylum policy, the coalition government of Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals rejected calls by CDU leader Friedrich Merz to stop the admission of Afghans and Syrians altogether. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit referred to the individual right to asylum in the Basic Law.

One week before the state elections in the eastern German states of Saxony and Thuringia, the attack by the 26-year-old Syrian triggered a debate about asylum policy and security laws in Germany. The man, who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) after his arrest, had killed three people with a knife and injured eight at the Solingen city festival.