Three dead, eight wounded in Syrian asylum seeker’s stabbing spree at Festival of Diversity; trial reveals chilling details, but still avoids naming Islam as motive.
A German court is under fire for refusing to identify the ideological motive behind a deadly knife rampage last August that left three people dead and eight others wounded at a public festival in the city of Solingen. The attack, carried out by 26-year-old Syrian asylum seeker Issa al-Hade, occurred during the city’s “Festival of Diversity”—a celebration of multiculturalism meant to honor Solingen’s 650th anniversary.
Despite eyewitness testimony, a pre-recorded jihad video, the attacker’s shouts of the Islamic war cry, “Allahu Akbar”, and ISIS claiming responsibility, German prosecutors and judges continue to describe the massacre as a mystery. “There’s still the question of why,” one victims’ lawyer told local media during the trial’s opening session in Düsseldorf this week.
The answer, critics say, is obvious and deliberately ignored.
Knife Attack Turns Festival into Massacre
The attack unfolded on August 23, 2024, in Fronhof, a central square in Solingen. According to eyewitnesses and police reports, al-Hade began stabbing festival attendees at random shortly before noon, causing widespread panic. He fled the scene but later turned himself in.
According to a forensic reconstruction presented in court, al-Hade moved quickly and deliberately through the crowd, stabbing his victims from behind, specifically targeting the neck to ensure quick and fatal wounds. He shouted “Allahu Akbar” multiple times during the attack, which lasted less than one minute. Despite the suddenness, one victim was eventually able to fight him off and help stop the carnage.
Three people were killed, including a 31-year-old woman. Eight others suffered severe stab wounds. Emergency services evacuated the square, and the remainder of the three-day festival was canceled.
Security sources later confirmed that al-Hade was on a federal watchlist for possible radicalization. He had arrived in Germany from Syria in 2015 and was granted asylum under the country’s refugee resettlement program.
Prosecutors Confirm Islamic Ties—But Court Avoids Naming Motive
Nine months after the attack, al-Hade’s trial began in Hall 2 of the Düsseldorf Superior Court’s high-security wing. His defense attorney entered a full confession on his behalf, stating: “He has committed serious crimes. He has killed and injured innocent people.”
However, the confession, while acknowledging guilt, made no mention of religious or ideological motivation. Nor did the prosecution’s official indictment, even as federal investigators confirmed that ISIS had claimed responsibility and that the suspect had recorded a video pledging the attack.
Yet the indictment confirms that al-Hade had sworn allegiance to ISIS and carried out the attack in its name. Prosecutors linked his actions to ideological revenge over Israel’s 2023 Gaza operation. On the day of the massacre, ISIS publicly claimed responsibility, calling him one of their “soldiers.” Despite this overwhelming evidence, the court carefully avoided using the words “Islamic terrorism.”
During the first day of proceedings, state broadcaster WDR aired footage of the trial showing victims and survivors seated in the courtroom gallery, their lawyers demanding full accountability. “The act is incomprehensible for us as Solingers to this day,” said one attorney, “and from our point of view, unsurpassed in its senselessness.”
Other observers disagreed. “It is not senseless,” said political analyst Miriam Fendt. “It is textbook jihad.”
Court observers described al-Hade as “shy,” “hunched,” and physically unthreatening, leading many in the media to express disbelief that such a man could commit such violence. But surveillance footage and the jihad video, played in court, painted a very different picture: a smiling, confident attacker boasting of what he was about to do.
Victims Demand Answers
Twelve joint plaintiffs are participating in the trial, including family members of those killed. Many expressed frustration that the court refuses to name the ideology they believe took their loved ones.
“There’s still no explanation,” said Philipp Müller, the festival’s original organizer. “The entire city is asking the same question: Why?”
While Müller and other survivors have called for the maximum penalty, al-Hade faces a life sentence under terrorism and murder charges, many feel justice will not be served if the motive is not acknowledged.
“Justice without truth is hollow,” said local resident Claudia Brenner, who lives just meters from the attack site. “We’re not just grieving, we’re being gaslit.”
A makeshift memorial still stands at the square where the stabbing occurred. Residents say it was covered with wreaths and candles for weeks after the attack, though interest has since waned.
Political Ramifications and National Silence
Solingen’s attack is one in a growing list of violent acts committed by asylum seekers and migrants across Europe. From the 2016 Berlin Christmas market attack to the Würzburg stabbings and beyond, Islamic extremism has played a role in dozens of mass casualty events. Yet German authorities continue to downplay ideological factors, fearing backlash from pro-migration coalitions and media watchdogs.
A former intelligence advisor spoke to RAIR Foundation and explained, “It’s about imported ideology. When you accept people from jihadist breeding grounds without proper vetting, you invite jihad. It’s that simple.”
Germany’s refugee policy remains one of the most liberal in the EU, with more than 1.2 million migrants accepted from Syria alone since 2015.
In Solingen, many say the cost is now painfully clear.
U.S. Facing Similar Trends, Experts Warn
Analysts say the West, including the United States, must take heed. Radicalization, they warn, is not confined to Europe.
“Islamic enclaves are rising in Texas, Minnesota, Michigan,” said a national security analyst who has chose to remain private, “Foreign-funded mosques, Sharia-based arbitration, and refusal to integrate, that’s not multiculturalism. That’s stealth jihad.”
The analyst pointed to recent attacks and attempted attacks in the U.S. where suspects invoked similar motivations and language as al-Hade.
“If we keep pretending this has nothing to do with Islam, we are guaranteeing more bloodshed,” he added.
Court Continues Hearings Through September
The trial in Düsseldorf is expected to run through at least September 2025. The court has yet to confirm whether it will hear expert testimony on Islam or admit further evidence related to ISIS recruitment or ideology.
So far, hearings have focused largely on the events of the day itself, with limited discussion of the attacker’s worldview or online activities.
Critics say this amounts to willful ignorance. “The motive is not missing,” said columnist Markus Riedel. “It’s being ignored.”
As one resident put it: “This wasn’t senseless. It was sanctioned by doctrine, by hatred, and by a government too cowardly to name either.”
Trial Exposes Chilling Pre-Meditation
The indictment reveals that al-Hade had been studying what media calls the “Islamic State ideology” since at least 2019, rejecting what he called the “liberal lifestyle” of the West. In preparation for the Solingen massacre, he contacted ISIS networks through Telegram, swore allegiance to the so-called Caliph, and received approval for the attack. On the day of the stabbings, ISIS released a statement celebrating al-Hade as one of its “soldiers.”
Despite all of this, the courtroom remained eerily restrained in its language. Al-Hade sat hunched, silent, and emotionless during proceedings, nodding only to confirm his identity, while survivors and families sat feet away, demanding the court confront what everyone else already knows: this was jihad.
No More Excuses. No More Denial.
It’s time to face the truth Western leaders refuse to admit: Mass Islamic immigration is a threat to Western civilization. It is not enriching us. It is dividing us, endangering us, and eroding every value we claim to stand for.
How many more festivals must be soaked in blood before we wake up?
Solingen was not an accident. It was a warning. And if we don’t stop importing the ideology that fuels this violence, we are complicit in our own destruction.
