“Allah cursed the infidels”: Inside the mind of Pride parade attacker Abdul Ballout
The Berlin terrorist who killed one woman at a Christopher Street Day celebration operated a Telegram channel spreading hatred against non-believers and rejecting democracy until July 2025.
Abdul Ballout operated the channel “Quran für deine Seele” (Quran for your Soul) until July 11, 2025, where he published Islamic quotes, voice messages, and so-called “Quran edits”—videos featuring Arabic Quranic recitations with translations overlaid. The channel had 686 subscribers who received his messages before he carried out his deadly attack.
The content provides a disturbing window into the mindset of the attacker, characterized by hostility toward Christians, Jews, and perceived “non-believers,” as well as rejection of democratic legal systems. More than two weeks have passed since Ballout drove his vehicle into the crowd during the Berlin Christopher Street Day event. A 65-year-old woman died in the attack, and 31 others were injured. Police tracked down the perpetrator the following evening and shot him dead.
Direct Quotes from Islamic Texts
The Telegram channel was created on November 4, 2022. That same year, a youth court had imposed what is termed a “youth judicial directive” against Ballout for bodily harm and extortionate robbery. The young man, who reportedly displayed severe aggression during his school years, appeared to have developed a clear worldview reflected in the “Quran edits” on his channel.
One video stated: “Verily, Allah has cursed the unbelievers and has prepared for them a blazing fire.” The video cited verses 63 through 66 from the 33rd Surah of the Quran as its source. Ballout was not quoting well-known Salafist preachers active in Germany such as Abul Baraa, Ibrahim El-Azzazi, or Pierre Vogel, but rather passages directly from the Quran itself—the book that many Muslims insist stands exclusively for peace and cannot serve as justification for Islamist attacks and movements.
For Ballout, however, the Quran appears to have provided a foundation for justifying his contempt toward non-believers. Another Telegram video stated: “You will not find people who believe in Allah and the Last Day showing affection to those who oppose Allah and His Messenger, even if they were their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or their clan members.”
This represents a clear call for Muslims to show no affection toward supposed “non-believers,” even if they are one’s own father or another family member. This radical verse also appears in the Quran as published.
Explicit Calls to Combat
In yet another video, there was an explicit call to fight against perceived non-believers. The text read: “Fight against those who do not believe in Allah and not in the Last Day and do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden and do not follow the religion of truth.”
This too is a passage from the Quran, the holy book of Muslims. But Ballout did not limit himself to spreading radical “Quran edits” on his Telegram channel. The Islamist also published his own voice messages containing Islamic sermons.
Criminal History and Radicalization
In 2019, Ballout allegedly beat up a boy. In 2020, he reportedly robbed another of his headphones. According to research by the Berliner Morgenpost, Ballout had been conspicuous even as an elementary school student, repeatedly displaying aggressive behavior and having to change elementary schools twice as a result.
On May 12 of this year, Ballout was sentenced by the Youth Court at Tiergarten District Court to a juvenile prison term of one year and ten months for preparing a serious crime endangering the state. The reason: he had attempted to travel to Mauritania and later Syria to join the armed struggle of the Islamic State.
Rejection of Democratic Legal Systems
That the German rule of law apparently played no serious role for Abdul Ballout is also evident from recordings on his Telegram channel. The materials demonstrate his fundamental rejection of democratic principles and Western legal frameworks, viewing them as incompatible with his interpretation of Islamic law.
The case raises serious questions about monitoring of known extremists and the effectiveness of judicial interventions designed to prevent radicalization among young offenders. Despite multiple encounters with law enforcement, court-imposed directives, and a recent prison sentence for attempting to join the Islamic State, Ballout remained free to plan and execute his deadly attack on civilians celebrating at a public event in the German capital.
With information from Nius
