Islamist threats in Bremen: Learn to shoot and post on Insta

Two cases of suspected Islamist threats are affecting Bremen these days. On Thursday, the Federal Police and Federal Criminal Police Office arrested a man who is said to have planned an attack on a church in Bremen for Islamist motives. And this Monday, the case of a young man from Bremen who was trained to use weapons by IS in 2025 was heard in the regional court.

So far, little is known about the possible attack on a church: the Bremen churches were informed by the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office - both the Protestant and the Catholic. Apparently the attack plans were not yet very specific or the investigators could not yet narrow them down to a community. “It was obviously more of an intention than a plan,” said Frank Lenk, spokesman for the Bremen Evangelical Church. Of course that creates “a bit of unrest” – but you’re not really worried at the moment, you’re relaxed.

It is not yet clear why it is already known that a church in Bremen was the target of the attack. The suspect himself is registered in Brandenburg – he was arrested there on Thursday. There is already a lot of information circulating about him: According to the German Press Agency, he is said to have entered the country in 2021 through an admission program run by the state of Brandenburg for refugees in particular need of protection and has a residence permit. A possible supporter is still being sought.

The FDP is already using the case for political demands and refers to a current proposal from the parliamentary group: There should be no suspended sentences for young offenders; The application was originally drawn up after the attack on the CSD in Berlin in July.

According to the Federal Criminal Police Office, Islamists are still by far the largest group of threats: nationwide, the BKA counts 17 people as left-wing extremist threats, 67 from the right-wing extremist spectrum and 410 threats who are classified as Islamists. In the federal state of Bremen, too, the “low double-digit number” of threats is said to be largely Islamist-oriented. Between 20 and 40, single, unemployed, are other characteristics that are typically assigned to them.

Is Marwan R. one of them? The 21-year-old is standing in front of the Bremen regional court this Monday, wearing a white sweater, dark, shoulder-length hair, and a light beard. The public prosecutor's office accuses him of "preparing a serious act of violence that would endanger the state." That sounds more concrete than was supposed in his case: a spokesman for the court later explains that leaving to join IS itself is already subject to this accusation.

R. came to Germany from Syria as a child, in 2014 when he was nine or ten years old. What happened to him in the years that followed will not be made public during the trial: R. comments on the allegations, although he and his lawyer ask that the public be excluded. Because R. has just turned 21, this is granted to him. “In view of his further development, that would definitely be welcome,” said a juvenile court assistant. His level of development is still “very youthful”.

When he decided to leave for IS, he was not living in a stable situation. That was at the beginning of 2025 - he is said to have made the decision in February at the latest, and in March R. then went to Syria, to Ar-Raqqa.

The actual civil war was already over at this point and IS no longer had control over large areas. However, there were still covertly operating terrorist cells in the country, still a magnet for radicalized Islamists from Europe: the attacker at the CSD in Berlin also apparently wanted to join the Islamic State there in 2025.

R.'s goal in Syria: He wanted to free the women and children of the Islamic State, the public prosecutor's office reads from its indictment, through "attacks on Kurdish-run areas." This could mean the notorious Al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria, where around 24,000 family members of IS fighters were interned until February of this year. However, R. probably didn't actually go into battle again.

In the desert he is said to have received training on an AK-47 from the Islamic State. After a few weeks he went back home: at the beginning of April he bought himself a Kalashnikov for $350 and then returned to Germany.

It is still questionable whether he intended anything else with the weapon. In any case, R. briefly published two story posts on his Instagram profile in May: an unrecognizable person posing with a weapon, with a Nashid, a fight song created by the IS media outlet, playing in the background. Same day, another post: A picture of an IS flag, with another Nashid, “Let’s go company” it says. Then nothing follows for a long time. In November, Marwan once again attracted attention on social media with IS propaganda, this time sharing an audio message from a former IS spokesman on Tiktok.

The social media posts are apparently what put investigators on his trail. He has spent a few months in custody since March; but he was released again on July 2nd. The trial is scheduled to last until November 20th, with a total of ten trial days scheduled.