Experts say the link between mental illness and so-called “lone wolf” terrorists is driven by the fact that unstable individuals are often influenced by events in the news, a fact that is exploited by global jihadist groups. Tuesday’s knife attack by a 27-year-old German shouting “Allahu Akbar” left one dead and three injured in Munich. But police quickly dismissed any jihadist motive, saying there were “strong reasons” to believe he acted “in a state of insanity”. Numerous similar cases have been reported around the globe. Man Haron Monis, who died along with two of his hostages at a Sydney coffee shop in December 2014, had a long history of mental illness. So did Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, who killed a Canadian soldier near Ottawa’s parliament two months earlier. Experts say the connection is not unexpected, since the jihadist ideology offers a compelling narrative for dealing with feelings of marginalisation and paranoid fantasies of persecution that can exist among people with severe mental illnesses. “Each time society evolves, delusional people evolve. Delusional behaviour is always connected to the times,” said psychiatrist Daniel Zagury, who has acted as an expert witness at the trials of several alleged jihadists. “There have always been mystical delusions.