The 50-year-old Saudi doctor arrested in connection with a deadly car-ramming attack at the Magdeburg Christmas market was "an Islamophobic", said Interior Minister Nancy Faesar.
This was clear to see, she added.
Meanwhile, the death toll in the Magdeburg Christmas market attack rose to five on Saturday.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, while addressing the media, said understanding the actions and motives behind the attack is important to respond with the criminal law.
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He ensured that "full force of the law" would be applied.
He also added that it was shocking that the attack had taken place on the same day eight years ago when an Islamist terrorist drove a stolen lorry into a Christmas market on Breitscheid Platz in the centre of west Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring many more.
"It is not hatred that determines our coexistence, but the fact that we are a community that is working for a common future and that we do not let those who spread hatred get away with it," he said.
The police are still investigating the motive behind the attack. The suspect had shared dozens of tweets and retweets daily focusing on anti-Islam themes, criticising the religion and congratulating Muslims who left the faith.
He had also accused the German authorities of failing to do enough to combat the "Islamism of Europe". He has also voiced support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Among around 200 people who got injured in the attack, at least 15 of them are critical.
