Mohammed Bouyeri was born on March 8, 1978, in Amsterdam-Oost, the Netherlands. He was a second-generation Moroccan-Dutchman of Berber origin. At the age of seven, he and his family moved to Slotervaart/Overtoomse Veld. Bouyeri did well in school and was considered a promising student. He completed his higher secondary education at the Mondriaan Lyceum, where he was a havo student. Many Moroccan youth in the Netherlands, including some of his classmates, went on to lower vmbo education. A former teacher described Bouyeri as "timid and observant," noting his determination to graduate.

In 1994, a local youth center was demolished. It was replaced with a new center aimed at aiding migrants, which Bouyeri and others in his community disliked. They felt it only served adults, ignoring the needs of local youth. Bouyeri began university at Inholland Hogeschool of Applied Sciences in Diemen in 1997. At this university, few Moroccan students were enrolled. Over five years, he changed his major several times but did not complete any courses. He studied subjects like accounting and business information technology but did not put in much effort.

In the summer of 2000, Bouyeri and a group of men entered the university cafe and caused a disturbance. They targeted Dutch patrons, as the cafe was viewed by Muslim students as unwelcoming. In 2001, he was involved in a fight with a man dating one of his sisters. When police arrived, Bouyeri was found with a knife. He attempted to stab an officer and threw the knife at the police. He was sentenced to prison and spent time in a detention center in Almere. He was released toward the end of 2001.

After his release, Bouyeri wanted to become a productive member of society. Shortly after he was freed, his mother passed away, and the September 11 attacks occurred. In 2002, he began studying social teaching assistance at the Amsterdam Hogeschool of Applied Sciences. He also worked at Eigenwijks, a community center in Slotervaart/Overtoomse Veld. Bouyeri pushed for a youth center to open in the secondary school, but authorities rejected the idea. He began to feel that Dutch society was anti-Moroccan.

Following his mother's death in 2002 and his father's remarriage in 2003, Bouyeri adopted a strict interpretation of Sunni Islamic Sharia law. After spending five years in university without earning a degree, he started writing under the pen name "Abu Zubair". He produced and shared radical texts online. In spring 2002, he moved to a small apartment in Slotermeer. There, he became more active in spreading his views. His strict adherence to Sharia law limited his participation at Eigenwijks, and he stopped working there altogether. He began wearing a djellaba and grew a beard. Bouyeri frequently visited the El Tawheed Mosque, where he interacted with other radical individuals and became part of a group known as the Hofstad Network.

On the morning of November 2, 2004, Mohammed Bouyeri killed filmmaker Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam. Bouyeri approached van Gogh while he was biking to work. He shot him eight times with a handgun. Two bystanders were also wounded in the attack. After van Gogh fell to the ground, Bouyeri walked up to him and shot him several more times at close range. He then used a large knife to slit van Gogh's throat and attempted to decapitate him. Following this, he stabbed the knife deep into van Gogh's chest, reaching his spinal cord. Bouyeri attached a five-page note to van Gogh's body using a fillet knife before fleeing the scene.

The note Bouyeri left called for the death of all unbelievers and addressed Ayaan Hirsi Ali specifically. He referred to her as a heretic and accused her of collaborating with "Zionists and Crusaders." He also included statements about several people he did not like. Bouyeri's actions caused van Gogh to die at the scene.

After the murder, Bouyeri was quickly arrested nearby following an exchange of gunfire with police. He had been wounded in the leg during the shootout. When arrested, he had a farewell poem titled "In bloed gedoopt" (translated to "Baptised in Blood") that expressed his wish to die as a martyr. He chose to remain silent during his interrogation by authorities.

On November 11, 2004, Bouyeri was formally charged with several crimes, including murder and attempted murder. He was charged under the Netherlands' new anti-terrorism laws. His trial took place on July 11 and 12, 2005, in a high-security building. Bouyeri refused to accept the court's authority and did not participate in his trial.

Throughout the trial, he showed no remorse for his actions. Bouyeri indicated he would commit the same act again if given the chance. The prosecutor called for life imprisonment for Bouyeri, stating that he rejected democracy and wanted to destroy it through violence. On July 26, 2005, Bouyeri was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. This was the harshest punishment under Dutch law, and he was the only person to receive this sentence for a single murder at that time.

In 2014, authorities reopened the investigation to see if Bouyeri had assistance during the crime. He remains imprisoned at the EBI supermax facility in the Netherlands.