Liberation
29.05.2013
A 22 year old white French convert to Islam was arrested for the recent attack against a French soldier at La Defense. Alexander D. Is suspected of having sliced the throat of a 25-year-old French soldier on parole in the suburban Parisian business district of La Défense. The soldier survived the attack and is still being treated in hospital. Surveillance footage shows the suspect making an Islamic prayer eight minutes before he attacked the soldier from behind. The state attorney of Paris, Francois Molins, considers the attacker from the city of Trappes to have been directed by religious ideology.
Alexander D. has previously been known to the police for minor delinquencies. He converted to Islam four years ago and joined the Tabligh movement, which is known to be less violent and political than other Salafi groups. Ever since his conversion he has changed his name from Alexander to Abdeillah. The case has brought the question of Islamic radicalism and ‘home-grown terrorism’ back to the forefront of French political debates.
