A Brief History
In another horrible and senseless incident of an Islamic refugee invited into Germany to escape the horrors of his native land at the hands of other Muslims, a Syrian refugee blew up a suicide bomb in Ansbach, wounding at least 12 people. The 27 year old Syrian refugee had been living in Germany for the last 2 years, although he had been denied asylum. The bomber may have caused more death and injury had he been allowed entry to the music festival being held in the area. Security teams later raided the bomber’s residence and a local refugee camp looking for possible evidence and or conspirators.
Digging Deeper
Also on July 24, 2016, another Syrian refugee took out his misguided anger on innocent Germans when the machete wielding 21 year old man carried out a gruesome attack in Reutlingen, killing a pregnant woman and injuring 2 other people. Police arrested the maniac who had chased and attacked a moving police car! These 2 attacks (and others) come as a blow to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open door policy toward refugees from the violence related to Islamic extremism in the Middle East.
Also not lost on American voters subjected to a never ending diatribe about “common sense gun control” is the fact that the horrible mass murders in Europe are taking place in countries that have stricter gun laws than anywhere in the US.
These attacks come to a stunned Germany only 2 days after 9 people (plus the shooter) were killed and 27 injured in a Munich massacre, shot by an Iranian/German 18 year old who apparently targeted Muslim teenagers (1 victim was 45 years old, all the rest were 20 or less). This case appears to be more of a mental illness inspired attack than any relation to ISIS or other Islamic terrorism, but the fact of the shooter having Middle Eastern Islamic roots (son of Iranian immigrants) certainly gets the attention of German citizens. The gunman killed himself on the scene with his own gun, a 9mm Glock pistol.
Meanwhile, only a few days prior to the Munich shooting (July 18, 2016), a 17 year old Afghan refugee attacked passengers on a German train in Bavaria with an ax and a knife, wounding at least 4 people seriously and several more less seriously. The refugee had been taken in at a foster home, and repaid German hospitality by conspiring with ISIS related motives to terrorize Germany. The terrorist was shot dead by police when he attacked them.
Germany and all of Europe has been shaken by this terrible string of attacks, and right wing attitudes against refugees and people of Islamic faith are hardening. Likewise, sentiment in the United States is clearly swinging toward a ban or at least greatly restricted entry to the US by Islamic immigrants, refugees, and other people from places seen as hot beds of terrorism.
(Bombs, axes, knives, machetes, and even motor vehicles (Nice, France attack where 85 were killed with a truck and hundreds injured earlier this month) prove that terrorists and murderers do not necessarily need guns to kill people, and that strict gun control laws do not protect the public, either. On the other hand, a gun in the hands of a responsible citizen could possibly have cut any of these attacks short and saved lives, a fact often ignored by politicians with an agenda to disarm the public.)
Question for students (and subscribers): Is Germany taking in too many refugees? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Nesser, Petter. Islamist Terrorism in Europe: A History. Oxford University Press, 2016.