Chapter 32: Only Our Prayers

133       exploded devices . . . Brussels Airport . . . not far from where they had grown up  “Ibrahim and Khalid el-Bakraoui: From Bank Robbers to Brussels Bombers,” New York Times, March 24, 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/03/25/world/europe/expanding-portraits-of-brussels-bombers-ibrahim-and-khalid-el-bakraoui.html; and Lilia Blaise and Aurelien Breeden, “Najim Laachraoui, 24, Bomb Maker for Paris and Brussels Attacks,” New York Times, March 25, 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/03/26/world/europe/najim-laachraoui-24-bomb-maker-for-paris-and-brussels-attacks.html.

133       blew himself up inside a train “Ibrahim and Khalid el-Bakraoui: From Bank Robbers to Brussels Bombers,” www.nytimes.com/2016/03/25/world/europe/expanding-portraits-of-brussels-bombers-ibrahim-and-khalid-el-bakraoui.html.

133       ISIS claimed responsibility  Gretchen Frazee, “ISIS Claims Responsibility for Brussels Attacks; at Least 34 Dead,” PBS News, March 22, 2016, www.pbs.org/newshour/world/explosions-rip-through-brussels-airport-subway-system.

133       killed 32 people and injured 340  “Brussels Explosions: What We Know About Airport and Metro Attacks,” BBC News, April 9, 2016, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35869985.

133       “terror attack” . . . “an increase of 1.35 percentage points” in support for. . .  Claude Berrebi and Esteban F. Klor, “Are Voters Sensitive to Terrorism? Direct Evidence from the Israeli Electorate,” American Political Science Review 102, no. 3 (August 2008), www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/abs/are-voters-sensitive-to-terrorism-direct-evidence-from-the-israeli-electorate/B1FE65A2EA22B126F63B48E25DBB09D2, 279, 287.

133        “enough to decide the elections”  Berrebi and Klor, “Are Voters Sensitive to Terrorism? Direct Evidence from the Israeli Electorate,” www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/abs/are-voters-sensitive-to-terrorism-direct-evidence-from-the-israeli-electorate/B1FE65A2EA22B126F63B48E25DBB09D2, 287, 279.

133       ten thousand Facebook users liked the page of . . .(Flemish Interest) Jake Wallis Simons, “Exclusive: Belgium Turns On Immigrants After Brussels Bloodbath as Membership of Far-Right ‘White Power’ group Doubles in Three Days,” Daily Mail, March 25, 2016, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3509174/Belgium-turns-immigrants-Brussels-bloodbath-membership-far-right-White-Power-group-DOUBLES-three-days.html.

133       “We are the only party that highlights . . .” Tom Van Grieken quoted in Simons, “Exclusive: Belgium Turns On Immigrants After Brussels Bloodbath as Membership of Far-Right ‘White Power’ group Doubles in Three Days,” www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3509174/Belgium-turns-immigrants-Brussels-bloodbath-membership-far-right-White-Power-group-DOUBLES-three-days.html.

133       gathered on the city’s beachfront promenade  “Nice Attack: Trial for Bastille Day Massacre Which Killed 86 Begins,” BBC News, September 5, 2022, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62799419.

133–134 came racing down the street . . . eighty-six people dead, including fifteen children “Nice Attack: Trial for Bastille Day Massacre Which Killed 86 Begins,” www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62799419.

134      was born in Tunisia Steve Visser and Alanne Orjoux, “Who Was Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel?” CNN, July 17, 2016, www.cnn.com/2016/07/15/europe/nice-france-terrorist-driver/index.html.

134      arrived in France a decade prior  Tarek Amara, “Shock in Tunisian Hometown of Nice Attacker,” Reuters, July 15, 2016, www.reuters.com/article/world/shock-in-tunisian-hometown-of-nice-attacker-idUSKCN0ZV2WI/.

134      had a residency permit “The Nice Attacker’s Road to Terror,” France 24, July 18, 2016, www.france24.com/en/20160718-nice-attackers-road-terror-Mohamed-Lahouaiej-Bouhlel; and Adam Nossiter et al., “Years Before Truck Rampage in Nice, Attacker Wasn’t ‘Living in the Real World,’” New York Times, July 24, 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/07/25/world/europe/nice-france-bastille-day-attacks.html.

134      ISIS claimed responsibility for the truck attack  Sam Jones et al., “Nice Truck Attack: Islamic State Claims Responsibility,” The Guardian, July 16, 2016, www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/16/islamic-state-claims-responsibility-for-nice-truck-attack.

134      “What prevented the terrorist from killing more innocents . . .”  Jair Bolsonaro, Twitter, July 15, 2016, 6:12 p.m., x.com/jairbolsonaro/status/754076183625605124, archived at archive.today, February 9, 2026 capture, archive.ph/I28Il.

134      “Russia knows terrorism and . . .”  Vladimir Putin, “Address to Francois Hollande and the French Nation,” Kremlin, July 15, 2016, en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/52522.

134      “The war against the scourge of Islamist fundamentalism . . .”  Marine Le Pen statement, July 15, 2016, quoted in Benoît Morenne, “Marine Le Pen Blames ‘Islamist Fundamentalism’ for Nice Attack,” New York Times, July 15, 2016, archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/live/truck-plows-into-crowd-in-nice-france/marine-le-pen/.

134      increased about fivefold “Local FN representative Lionel Tivoli said FN membership in Nice’s Alpes-Maritimes department had jumped from 740 two years ago to 3,500-4,000 now, driven in particular by the attacks. ‘What strikes people is that this attack took place where they live, here in the Alpes-Maritimes,’ Tivoli said in the FN’s local headquarters. ‘We’re not safe anywhere anymore.’” “Le Pen Woos Nice Voters with Vision of ‘Happy Europe,’” France 24, April 28, 2017, www.france24.com/en/20170428-le-pen-woos-nice-voters-happy-europe.

134      fifth anniversary of Anders Breivik’s slaying  “Norway Attacks: ‘Time Does Not Heal All Wounds,’” Deutsche Welle (DW), July 22, 2016, www.dw.com/en/five-years-on-norway-remembers-victims-of-terror-attack/a-19420488.

134      chose this day  The police investigation found that Sonboly was “obsessed” with mass murderers like Anders Breivik and observed an “obvious link” between Sonboly and Breivik’s attacks. Munich police chief Hubertus Andrae quoted in AFP, “Munich Gunman Inspired by Rightwing Breivik: Police,” The Local Germany, July 23, 2016, www.thelocal.de/20160723/munich-gunman-inspired-by-rightwing-breivik-not-isis-police.

134      the child of Iranian immigrants  Souad Mekhennet et al., “Munich Officials: Gunman Acted Like ‘a Deranged Person’ but Had No Ties to Terror Groups,” Washington Post, July 23, 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/world/munich-police-hunt-for-a-motive-after-iranian-german-gunman-kills-nine-in-rampage/2016/07/23/5e3058d6-5055-11e6-bf27-405106836f96_story.html.

134      “foreign sub-humans”  Ali “David”   Sonboly, manifesto, July 24, 2015, quoted in Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA)/The Local, “Revenge or Racism? Report Raises Questions About Munich Shooter’s Motives,” The Local Germany, June 9, 2017, www.thelocal.de/20170609/revenge-or-racism-new-report-raises-questions-about-munich-shooters-motives.

134      changing his name to “David”  Annette Ramelsberger, “David? Ali David? What Is the Name of the Munich Mass Murderer?” Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), July 29, 2016, www.sueddeutsche.de/medien/in-eigener-sache-wie-wir-mit-der-chaosphase-umgehen-1.3100149, via Google Translate.

134      proud “Aryan,” positioning Iran as the homeland of Aryans Kate Connolly, “Munich Gunman Saw Sharing Hitler’s Birthday as ‘Special Honour,’” The Guardian, July 27, 2016, www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/27/munich-gunman-saw-sharing-hitlers-birthday-as-special-honour; and DPA/The Local, “Revenge or Racism? Report Raises Questions About Munich Shooter’s Motives,” www.thelocal.de/20170609/revenge-or-racism-new-report-raises-questions-about-munich-shooters-motives.

134      a “special honour” to share a birthday with . . . Hitler  German police quoted in Connolly, “Munich Gunman Saw Sharing Hitler’s Birthday as ‘Special Honour,’” www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/27/munich-gunman-saw-sharing-hitlers-birthday-as-special-honour.

134      “worshiped” the AfD “Mass Shooter: David S.: Lonely, Sick and Determined,” Der Spiegel, July 24, 2016, www.spiegel.de/panorama/justiz/amoklaeufer-david-s-aus-muenchen-einsam-krank-und-fest-entschlossen-a-1104485.html, via Google Translate.

134      opened fire at a McDonald’s . . . patronized by immigrants  “‘Radical Right-Wing’ Motives in Munich 2016 Attack,” DW, October 25, 2019, www.dw.com/en/germany-2016-munich-attack-had-radical-right-wing-motives-say-police/a-50991641.

134      brought his killing spree to the nearby Olympia shopping center  Jamie Grierson et al., “Munich Gunman Lured Victims on Facebook with ‘Free McDonald’s Food,’” The Guardian, July 23, 2016, www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/23/munich-shooting-teenage-gunman-researched-killing-sprees-no-isis-links.

134      murdered nine people, including . . .  “‘Radical Right-Wing’' Motives in Munich 2016 Attack,” DW; “Munich Shootings: Who Were the Victims?” BBC News, July 24, 2016, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36877837; and David Crossland, “Obsessed Munich Killer Had Planned Attack for a Year,” The Times, July 25, 2016, www.thetimes.com/article/804de7cc-51cb-11e6-8dea-000ee0549984.

134      “I am German” David Sonboly quoted in Emma Graham-Harrison et al., “Munich Attack: Teenage Gunman Kills Nine People at Shopping Centre,” The Guardian, July 23, 2016, www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/22/munich-shopping-centre-evacuated-after-reported-shooting-germany.

134      took his own life  Rukmini Callimachi et al., “Gunman in Munich Kills 9, Then Himself, the Police Say,” New York Times, July 22, 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/07/23/world/europe/munich-mall.html.

134      “Solidarity with the German people devastated by the Munich attack” Marine Le Pen, Twitter, July 23, 2016, 5:24 a.m., x.com/MLP_officiel/status/756781963806142464, archived at archive.today, February 9, 2026 capture, archive.ph/o4ker.

134–135 “right-wing extremist attacks” . . . increased support for . . .“mainstream right voters . . .” Werner Krause and Miku Matsunaga, “Does Right-Wing Violence Affect Public Support for Radical Right Parties? Evidence from Germany,” Comparative Political Studies 56, no. 14 (2023), journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0010414023116902, 2276, 2291.

135      “the AfD benefits from acts of terror which . . .” Navid Sabet et al., “Terrorism and Voting: The Rise of Right-Wing Populism in Germany,” ConTrust Working Paper 6 (April 2023), contrust.uni-frankfurt.de/files/2023/04/ConTrust-WorkingPaper-No6.pdf, 18.

135      “left-wing political violence and Islamist terrorism . . .” Krause and Matsunaga, “Does Right-Wing Violence Affect Public Support for Radical Right Parties? Evidence from Germany,” journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00104140231169021, 2275.

135      “. . . accused other parties of turning the AfD into scapegoats” Krause and Matsunaga, “Does Right-Wing Violence Affect Public Support for Radical Right Parties? Evidence from Germany,” journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0010414023116902, 2275.

135      “present immigration as the most significant threat . . .”  Krause and Matsunaga, “Does Right-Wing Violence Affect Public Support for Radical Right Parties? Evidence from Germany,” journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0010414023116902, 2274.

135      request for asylum in Germany had been denied . . . detonated a bomb  “Germany: Twelve Wounded in Ansbach Bombing,” Al Jazeera, July 25, 2016, www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/7/25/germany-twelve-wounded-in-ansbach-bombing.

135      injured at least a dozen people “Germany: Twelve Wounded in Ansbach Bombing,” www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/7/25/germany-twelve-wounded-in-ansbach-bombing; and Frederik Pleitgen et al., “Suicide Bomber in Germany Pledged Allegiance to ISIS leader,” CNN, July 26, 2016, www.cnn.com/2016/07/24/world/ansbach-germany-blast.

135      demanding Muslims be temporarily banned  “AfD Deputy Gauland Calls for a Stop to Immigration for Muslims,” Junge Freiheit, July 27, 2016, jungefreiheit.de/politik/deutschland/2016/afd-vize-gauland-fordert-einwanderungsstopp-fuer-moslems/, via Google Translate; and Connolly, “Munich Gunman Saw Sharing Hitler’s Birthday as ‘Special Honour,’” www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/27/munich-gunman-saw-sharing-hitlers-birthday-as-special-honour.

135      “There are terrorists among the illegally immigrated . . .”  Alexander Gauland quoted in “AfD Deputy Gauland Calls for a Stop to Immigration for Muslims,” jungefreiheit.de/politik/deutschland/2016/afd-vize-gauland-fordert-einwanderungsstopp-fuer-moslems/.

135      reduced the propensity to vote . . . “high” in “right-wing authoritarianism” Laura Jacobs and Joost van Spanje, “Not All Terror Is Alike: How Right-Wing Extremist and Islamist Terror Threat Affect Anti-immigration Party Support,” International Journal of Public Opinion Research 33, no. 4 (Winter 2021), academic.oup.com/ijpor/article-abstract/33/4/737/6114707, 737.

135–136 decreased by 59 percent  Institute for Economics & Peace, Global Terrorism Index 2020: Measuring the Impact of Terrorism (November 2020), www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GTI-2020-web-1.pdf, 40.

135–136 largest regional declines occurring in the Middle East and North Africa Institute for Economics & Peace, Global Terrorism Index 2020, www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GTI-2020-web-1.pdf, 4.

136      ISIS had lost territorial  control . . . Conflicts like the Syrian civil war  Institute for Economics & Peace, Global Terrorism Index 2020, www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GTI-2020-web-1.pdf, 40, 55, 22; and Alexandra Brzozowski, “Far-Right Terrorism Bigger Threat to West Than Islamic State—Study,” Euractiv, November 25, 2020, www.euractiv.com/section/justice-home-affairs/news/far-right-terrorism-bigger-threat-to-west-than-islamic-state-study/.

136      the number of terror attacks . . . increased by 250 percent  Institute for Economics & Peace, Global Terrorism Index 2020, www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GTI-2020-web-1.pdf, 3.

136      the number of deaths from these attacks increased by 709 percent from 2014 to 2019  Institute for Economics & Peace, Global Terrorism Index 2020, www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GTI-2020-web-1.pdf, 3.

136      more terror attacks carried . . . by great replacement soldiers . . . in the last fifty years  Institute for Economics & Peace, Global Terrorism Index 2020, www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GTI-2020-web-1.pdf, 63; and Brzozowski, “Far-Right Terrorism Bigger Threat to West Than Islamic State—Study,” www.euractiv.com/section/justice-home-affairs/news/far-right-terrorism-bigger-threat-to-west-than-islamic-state-study/.