In the afternoon of September 4, 2021, a woman was doing gardening work in Wilmersdorf, an inner-city southwest of central Berlin. A 29-year old Afghan man approached the 58-year old landscaper; they had a chat before the incident.

According to witnesses speaking to local news outlets, after a short conversation, the man took out a knife and repeatedly stabbed the woman in the neck. The assailant also attacked a 66-year old who attempted to intervene to stop the attacker.

The office of Berlin’s General State Prosecutor announced on Sunday, September 5, 2021, that the 29-year old assailant was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and attempted murder.

The police’s initial statement looked at mental illness as the possible reason for the attack. However, the state prosecutors and criminal investigators are considering that the attack was motivated by the assailant’s Islamic ideologies.

Initial findings of the incident reveal that the assailant attacked the woman because she was working. Islamic ideology, especially Sharia law, does not allow women to work. Islamic scholars claim that this is not true and that there are provisions in Sharia law where women are allowed to work. However, in some Islamic countries, especially in Afghanistan during Taliban control, these provisions were never practiced in their entirety.

The names of both the victims and of the assailant are withheld, following Germany’s privacy laws. The local news outlet reports that both victims are being treated for their injuries, one of them going through surgery.