Munich – When 24-year-old Farhad Noori was apprehended by police, he shouted the Islamic call to prayer, “Allahu Akbar” (Arabic for “Allah is the greatest”), before proceeding to pray.
Authorities now believe that the Afghan national’s attack, which left 38 people injured, was motivated by Islamist ideology.
Noori has admitted to deliberately driving his white Mini Cooper into the Verdi union demonstration on Seidlstrasse in Munich at around 10:30 a.m. on Thursday.
A blurry cell phone video captures the moment officers detained Noori in a backyard in Munich shortly after the attack.
Lying face down on the paved courtyard, he is restrained by a police officer while seven others stand nearby, one of whom is recording the scene.
In the footage, Noori can be heard repeatedly shouting “Ya Allah, ya Allah” (“Oh Allah, oh Allah”) as officers attempt to control him. He appears highly agitated and difficult to calm.
Despite being held down, Noori continues to chant in Dari, one of Afghanistan’s national languages, reciting the Islamic creed: “La ilaha illallah muhammadur rasulullah,” which translates to, “There is no God but Allah; Muhammad is the messenger of God.”
Attack Driven by Islamist Motive
According to the senior public prosecutor, the asylum seeker confessed to the crime during a two-hour interrogation. Investigators suspect an Islamist motive, though there is no evidence linking him to any known extremist organization.
However, it has been noted that Noori had recently been sharing more Islamic content in Persian and Arabic on his Instagram profile. This included religious texts, Islamic chants known as “Nasheeds” featuring Quranic verses sung without instruments, and symbols such as the raised index finger gesture signifying monotheism and images of the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest site in Mecca.
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