The main suspect behind the murder of two Swedish football fans in a taxi in Brussels on Monday got into a fight with his local bakery over whether the sweets on sale were permissible to eat in Islamic law.
“He was a bit strange but did not appear to be an extremist,” said baker Rachid El Hamli, who has owned a popular bakery in Schaerbeek for the past 43 years.
Last year, the two men quarrelled after Abdelsalam Lassoued, 45, walked into the shop one day berating its owner for not selling properly vetted halal sweets, according to Mr El Hamli.
After the incident, Lassoued would wait outside as his daughter bought bread, said the baker, who remembers that he would continue to say hello, albeit more coldly than before.
“Both were polite and smiling,” said Mr El Hamli.
“I am utterly shocked by what happened.”
Lassoued has been described as a “lone wolf” by local authorities who also deemed the murders to be terrorist acts. In a video widely shared on social media after the attacks, he says he was inspired by ISIS.
“Everybody says that he's a madman. He must have been brainwashed,” said Ben, a client at the bakery.
“We are shocked and disgusted,” said Mohamed, a volunteer at the Ahl Allah mosque, which the suspect occasionally visited.
The attacks committed by Lassoued, who was shot by police early on Tuesday morning a little more than 1km away from his family home in the neighbourhood of Schaerbeek, have led to an outpouring of grief both in Sweden and Belgium.
In Belgium, sadness was mixed with anger as local authorities came under attack for not having expelled Lassoued despite police having multiple reports about his extremist views in the past years. He was also able to stay in the country after his asylum application was rejected in 2020.
Bernard Clerfayt, a minister of the Brussels government responsible for employment, criticised the immigration office for its “failings in registering asylum seekers, in transfer to local authorities and in monitoring dangerous people”.
Prime Minister Alexander de Croo said on Tuesday that he believed that Lassoued had targeted Swedes due to recent controversies caused by Quran burnings. But Lassoued has also been reported to have written about the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas on his Facebook page shortly before the shootings.
“He mixed everything up, Palestine and Sweden. We don't understand. And it has nothing to do with religion,” said Ben, who, like most people interviewed by The National, declined to give his full name due to the sensitivity of the subject. “We're in shock. We don't know what to say.”
Mr de Croo also said that “conclusions must be drawn” about his prolonged illegal stay in Belgium and that orders of return to the country of origin needed to become “more binding.” The threat level for Brussels was reduced on Tuesday to level 3 from level 4, although the threat level for the country as a whole was kept at 3 – the second-highest level.
At the Ahl Allah mosque, there was also a general feeling of weariness when discussing Lassoued's actions.
The neighbourhood of Schaerbeek had previously hit headlines after previous terror attacks, including the ISIS-claimed double suicide bombing in Brussels in March 2016 which killed 35 people and wounded hundreds.
“Put yourself in our shoes,” said Mohamed, the volunteer. “People do monstrous things and we have to explain ourselves.”
Mohamed said that Lassoued was a discreet presence at the mosque, which first opened in the neighbourhood in 1969. He did not appear in the list of regular attendees who contribute a small amount every month for its upkeep. Many remember the alleged killer as only speaking Arabic and not mingling much with other participants.
“People just pray and leave. We are very keen to avoid gatherings,” said Abdelmajid, another volunteer at the mosque who stopped seeing him around four months ago, before the summer break. But he had no explanation for his absence.
“I have no idea what went on in his head.”
The public prosecutor's office has said that it cannot exclude a link between the attacks and the conflict in the Middle East. The investigation is expected to shed more light on the motivations of Lassoued, whose wife was interrogated by police on Tuesday.
Speaking under the pseudonym of Yasmina, she told local media that she fled her home to the local police station when she saw her husband's video claiming responsibility for the attack fearing that he would return home.
“I can barely speak about what he did. I don't have the courage,” she said.
MATCH INFO
CAF Champions League semi-finals first-leg fixtures
Tuesday:
Primeiro Agosto (ANG) v Esperance (TUN) (8pm UAE)
Al Ahly (EGY) v Entente Setif (ALG) (11PM)
Second legs:
October 23
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About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
List of alleged parties
May 12, 2020: PM and his wife Carrie attend 'work meeting' with at least 17 staff
May 20, 2020: They attend 'bring your own booze party'
Nov 27, 2020: PM gives speech at leaving party for his staff
Dec 10, 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson
Dec 13, 2020: PM and his wife throw a party
Dec 14, 2020: London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey holds staff event at Conservative Party headquarters
Dec 15, 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz
Dec 18, 2020: Downing Street Christmas party
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
READ MORE ABOUT CORONAVIRUS
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Key products and UAE prices
iPhone XS
With a 5.8-inch screen, it will be an advance version of the iPhone X. It will be dual sim and comes with better battery life, a faster processor and better camera. A new gold colour will be available.
Price: Dh4,229
iPhone XS Max
It is expected to be a grander version of the iPhone X with a 6.5-inch screen; an inch bigger than the screen of the iPhone 8 Plus.
Price: Dh4,649
iPhone XR
A low-cost version of the iPhone X with a 6.1-inch screen, it is expected to attract mass attention. According to industry experts, it is likely to have aluminium edges instead of stainless steel.
Price: Dh3,179
Apple Watch Series 4
More comprehensive health device with edge-to-edge displays that are more than 30 per cent bigger than displays on current models.
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
