A 24-year-old man said he stabbed a garda and set the Black Forge pub in Dublin on fire last year as a message to the Government and to the pub's owner Conor McGregor not to insult the Prophet Muhammad.
Abdullah Khan, whose address cannot be published because of a court order, pleaded guilty to eight charges including two terrorist offences in connection with both attacks in July of last year.
He admitted that he stabbed a garda and set the pub on fire because he was a supporter of ISIS and Jihadism.
He said he was angry at Mr McGregor as someone he characterised as helping the far-right grow in Ireland and was angry at the State for permitting free speech and as he saw it, the prophet to be insulted.
He said he had been inspired by Al Zarqawi, the founding father of the Islamist terrorist organisation ISIS, and told the gardaí he had always called himself a Jihadist.
He first became interested at around 19 or 20 but became more extreme as he grew older and shared the same ideology as ISIS.
"I support them, I have always been a spiritual person," he told gardaí and admitted that he had followed the four core principles.
"They share the same ideal as me," he said.
He said he felt the Prophet Muhammad had been insulted by people with a right-wing mindset and that the State allowed this to happen.
This he described as "outrageous" and said it "made me sad".
"As far as McGregor goes," he told officers from the Special Detective Unit which investigates terrorism, "he’s someone who helped the far-right grown in this country. I held him responsible".
"He was playing a very dangerous game. When it comes to Prophet Muhammad, we don’t see it as a matter of freedom of speech. We don’t mock other religions," he said.
His perceived insults to the prophet he said were "provocative" and "hurt me a lot".
He said he was "very angry at the State" which he said had "a duty to denounce it".
It was he said "a red line, not to be crossed. The State shouldn’t let that stuff, that was my motive".
He said he had made up his mind to attack a garda.
"Look I’m going to stab a guard," he said.
"I was angry, I was going to stab a guard. I was angry at the State. I wanted to make a protest, I felt the prophet was insulted, look that’s a red line I don’t want that happening."
Detective Inspector Gavin Ross from the Special Detective Unit told the court that the reasoning and motivation in his mind comes from Salafi Jihadism.
"You become a target if you insult the Prophet Muhammad," the detective said.
Khan also admitted that him shouting "Allahu Akbar" as he attacked the garda was part of his terrorism. "I totally agree," he said, adding "that is undeniable, Allahu Akbar, that doesn’t come out at random".
The two gardaí were on a high visibility patrol in Capel Street in Dublin at 6pm on 29 July last year when Abdullah Khan ran up from behind and attacked them with a knife.
The gardaí defended themselves and used protective equipment including batons and pepper spray to subdue him before he was arrested.
A member of the public also intervened to help.
The garda was stabbed on his dominant right arm and suffered chronic nerve pain, which required surgery.
Garda tells court attack affected him mentally, physically and morally
In a victim impact statement, he said he still suffers the physical and mental effects of the attack and is undergoing ongoing occupational therapy.
He said he felt bumps from behind but on seeing the knife, he was in shock at such a violent attack and was thinking of his family and partner.
He said he wanted to survive and believed he had been stabbed in the side but could not stop to treat himself.
He said he suffers nightmares, pain and ongoing doubt and replayed it in his head.
The fact that it was widely circulated and talked about on social media made him feel extremely vulnerable.
He said all he could think about was threats and he became fixated on males whose body language was off. He found it very difficult to be out in public and sat facing the door in restaurants.
He said the attack has affected him mentally, physically and morally.
He said he was a newly joined member of An Garda Síochána whose life and career has been paused and he struggles now and questions if he is still capable of being a good garda.
He said he had a planned career path but feels left behind as his progress stalled.
"I don’t know if my life will return to normal," he said.
His colleague said he was unable to sleep for three weeks after the attack and woke up in a panic, still afraid.
He said he is cautious at work when responding to calls and unable to walk on Capel Street.
He said he is continuously looking over his shoulder and keeps thinking about how lucky he and his colleague were to survive.
He also said he associated the term "Allahu Akbar" with terrorism, "as a war cry".
The youngest of six children, Khan has no previous convictions. His defence counsel Michael Bowman said he was born and educated in Ireland but spent time in Pakistan where he was socially isolated.
His mental health deteriorated when he returned to Ireland and he became withdrawn, increasingly paranoid, depressed and spent all his time in his room.
The 24-year-old left home and became homeless, increasingly paranoid, confused and recognises he was in a mental health crisis. He said he acknowledges the harm he has caused and wants to apologise.
Ms Justice Karen O’ Connor praised both gardaí today for their professionalism and bravery.
She said they both "displayed great courage," in particular the garda who had been stabbed because "he knew others would be hurt if he didn’t continue to carry out his role".
"He had just been stabbed and yet he was thinking of his role, keeping people safe," she said, adding that they "both displayed extraordinary courage, both gardaí were doing that in very difficult situation".
She remanded Khan in custody for sentencing next month.
