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Terrorism

Mother of Syrian 'IS' suspect in Cologne speaks out

Alaa Juma
September 27, 2016

DW Arabic has spoken with the mother of a Syrian refugee detained by Cologne police on charges of belonging to "Islamic State." She explained the circumstances surrounding her son up to his arrest.

https://p.dw.com/p/2QdNY
Deutschland Malika Mohamady
Image: DW/A. Juma

In an exclusive interview with DW Arabic, the mother of the 16-year-old Syrian refugee from Cologne who was arrested by German police on charges of belonging to "Islamic State" (IS) revealed details of his life and personality. The Cologne police said in a statement that according to available information, "they had arrested a Syrian refugee named Mohammed who was planning to detonate an explosive device."

Police said that the refugee who was arrested by the city "had links to Islamist extremists." The public prosecutor said the city examined the refugee's mobile phone, which proved that "there exists contact with someone who lives abroad with links to IS, and this person was seeking to persuade the young Syrian to engage in Islamist militant activities."  He added that this evidence would say that the Syrian refugee "drifted to extremism" in a short period.

The mother of Mohammad, named Malika M., said that her son suffered from, "various psychological problems and disorders, and that he was not responsible for his actions." Malika M. said in her discussion with DW Arabic that the period of transition from Syria to Germany was difficult. The family faced war followed by tight overcrowding in refugee housing. These conditions may have exacerbated the mental state of her son. She emphasized that her son asked her to go to a psychiatrist before his arrest. He managed to book an appointment from the refugee hostel where they were staying, but the circumstances of the detention prevented him to go there.

'We are an open-minded family'

Malika M. said her middle child, Mohammed, was "a moderate centrist," and added that "our family is open and respectful of all religions," and they are keen to instill Mohammad with the values ​​of moderation. She said that the circumstances of the war in Syria made them escape to a safer society away from repression and persecution. She said that her son was happy to come to Germany, so she did not think he was going to harm the country that took them in.

Deutschland Malika Mohamady
Malika M. requests the release of her son Image: DW/A. Juma

Malik M. expressed grief for her son with her daughter standing beside her. The family always watched their son from the moment he arrived in Germany, and did not notice any change in his behavior, but the problems started when "he frequently visited one of the mosques in the city and would spend long periods of time there."

London's Arabic newspaper "Al-Sharq Al-Awsat" wrote in its September 24 issue that the "Turkish mosque" where Mohammad attends observed him behaving strangely. He was praying in a direction other than towards Mecca. The authorities were warned of his eccentric behavior and that he was praying in the style of IS.

Mohammad's mother did not deny this act, but said that this is evidence of mental illness, and pointed out that her son was only 16 and is still a minor. "We said we are against IS, but we did not hear that it was typical behavior for IS to pray away from Mecca, so the accusations that this suggests extremist links should be considered 'null and void.' This is further evidence of his psychological troubles," she said.

Strange behavior

According to Malika M., the actions of her son with others in the refugee housing and his colleagues were "good." She never heard that he had extremist opinions.  His father noticed that Mohammad began to spend longer visits in one of the mosques and tried to keep his son from doing that too often, she said.

"My husband went and tried to find out the reason for his long visits there, and tried to find out with whom he was sitting," Malika M. said, adding Mohammad sometimes brought gifts with him to the house, and when asked by his father where he got them, he replied the mosque. The father went to the mosque the next day, and he asked those in charge if these gifts were from them, and asked them why.

"This proves that our family is not the reason behind Mohammad's behavior," Malika M. said.

Symbolbild Rakka Kämpfer der IS
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

Malika M. hopes her son is released, especially since "the police did not discover anything that convicts him," as she says. They found a small gas pipe, which they use for cooking, as well as a small flashlight.

However, Klaus-Stephan Becker of the Cologne police said during a press conference on September 21 that Mohammed expressed through online chat "unequivocal willingness" to carry out an attack. Becker explained that the young man engaged in online chat with another person outside Germany on "very specific instructions for how to make such a bomb."

"Checking the mobile phone for this teenager shows contact with a person living abroad with a connection to IS," police said in a statement. "This person wanted to attract the Syrian for Islamic activities."

However, the Cologne police chief Jürgen Mathies stressed at the same time, "there exists a lack of evidence that the young man already had the necessary material for the manufacturing of an explosive device," adding Mohammed did not specify a particular target for an attack.