Radical Islam Targets Christianity’s Holiest Days for Attacks

German authorities have foiled a terrorist plot. In connection with the planned attack, five migrant men were arrested who allegedly intended to drive a truck into crowds at a Christmas market. Jozsef Horvath, security policy expert and director of the Sovereignty Protection Research Institute, told Magyar Nemzet that the goal of Islamists is to intimidate Christians and demonstrate their own strength.

Christmas markets in Germany operating under police protection (Photo: AFP)

As previously reported, German authorities prevented an Islamist terrorist attack. Five migrants were taken into custody after planning an assault on a Christmas market. According to investigators, the suspects intended to ram a truck into the crowd, but the arrests came in time to stop the attack. The suspects include three Moroccan nationals, one Syrian, and one Egyptian citizen—the latter allegedly acted as a religious leader who encouraged the others.

Radical Islam regards Christianity’s defining holidays as priority periods for attacks. Pictured: Christmas market in Bonn (Photo: Ying Tang / NurPhoto)

“So far, we know that German authorities received the tipoff from a foreign intelligence service as part of international cooperation. Even before the operation was launched, they assessed the level of danger and decided to shut it down rather than wait for the plot to move into its execution phase,” Horvath told our paper. He added that during the legal proceedings following the arrests, the five men’s lawyers will likely attempt to downplay the charges, arguing that the original suspicions were unfounded.

This is where counterterrorism services face a difficult dilemma: deciding when to interrupt the process,” the expert explained. “What happened now also carries the risk that, in some cases, terrorists may ultimately walk away virtually unpunished. The key question is how much actionable, evidentiary information the foreign partner service provided alongside the initial intelligence.

Horvath stressed that security services are well aware the suspects were preparing a truck-ramming attack at a Christmas market—an indicator of an intent to carry out a high-impact assault. “At the same time,” he noted, “cases like this often collapse in court due to a lack of tangible physical evidence or incriminating audio recordings that would conclusively prove the intent suspected by intelligence services.”

Radical Islamists Planned the Attack

The composition of the group indicates that radical Islamists were behind the plot, though it was a “multicultural” cell in the literal sense: three Moroccans, one Syrian, and one Egyptian reportedly made up the five-man team. The oldest member, an Egyptian man in his 50s, served as the group’s ideological leader,

the expert said, also addressing the link between illegal migration and terrorism.

The fact that a terrorist group assembled from three different countries was in the preparatory phase of a serious attack in Europe—during Advent, targeting a Christmas market—shows that terrorism has entered Europe alongside illegal migration and continues to live among us, merely changing its form,” Horvath said. "In recent years, attacks have often involved lone actors, but the emergence of a coordinated cell may also indicate that security services have successfully disrupted multiple plots in time.

He warned that, just as a decade ago during the Paris attacks and later in Brussels, “such terrorist cells can form at any time. Given the large number of radical Islamists who have arrived in Western Europe, their convergence and mutually reinforcing views can inevitably lead not only to lone-wolf attacks—as seen in several vehicle-ramming incidents—but to coordinated operations designed to be far more destructive."

Commenting on the European Union migration policy, Horvath was blunt:

The EU has never gotten off this runaway train. No matter what happens in Europe, they always claim these are isolated cases or that the perpetrators suffer from psychiatric problems. The Western liberal-leftist elite avoids acknowledging or stating plainly that these are radical Islamist terrorist attacks. Instead, they try to reassure the public by portraying the attackers as mentally disturbed individuals—even when this is an obvious and factual falsehood.

Referring to the recent attack in Australia, Horvath added:

A recurring pattern is that radical Islam treats Christianity’s major holidays—such as Advent and Christmas—and, in the case of Judaism, Hanukkah, as priority attack periods. The goal is to sow doubt, instill fear among believers, and demonstrate strength.

“This is where Western Europe’s systematic self-surrender has led,” the expert concluded. “It is unwilling—and increasingly unable—to defend its values, its way of life, and its citizens.”

Five arrested over plot to attack German Christmas market https://t.co/XKVPB6Kz2h

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 14, 2025

Hungary Remains Safe

The director of the Sovereignty Protection Research Institute also emphasized:

Thanks to Hungary’s stict migration policies over the past decade, both Hanukkah and Christmas markets can be celebrated peacefully and joyfully by Hungary’s Jewish and Christian communities alike—as they should be."

“The fact that in Hungary we can celebrate Hanukkah and the anticipation of Christ’s birth openly in public spaces is, in my view, a tremendous political achievement,

the expert said.

Cover photo: Christmas markets in Germany operating under police protection (Photo: AFP)