An incident in the Belgian city Antwerp sparked many controversies over the future of Islamic communities in Europe. It is a concern for the immigrant leaders of the first generation and the youths of the third and fourth generation.
A white male extremist shot a male Muslim youth in the Burgerhoot district in the first week of December. Most inhabitants in this district are immigrants. Shortly afterwards, a number of Muslim youths came out to the streets in which the incident took place, and began destroying cars and smashing windows of shops. Further, a quarrel with policemen ensued and led to the arrest of over 160 persons.
Diab Abu Gahga, who is said to be the leader of an Islamic group, was among those who were arrested, the police said. He is accused of inciting the youth to the riot.
The violence in the Belgian city became a shock for the Islamic communities that live in cohesiveness.
The elders of the communities condemned the riot. This incident prompted questions about Muslim representatives in Belgium, France and other European countries
Newsweek Magazine reported that Islamic communities in many areas in Europe go through a noticeable change in its activities. This caused a competition between the traditional first generation and the enthusiastic and more radical second and third generation, who are annoyed because of the religious and the racial discrimination; especially in the framework of the world’s latest changes. These changes pushed the youth to rebel against the leaders directions of their affairs.
In brief, this is the main reason behind the conflict between Abu Gahga and Nour El Din Malougamoum, head of the Islamic Committee in Belgium, who have good relations with the Government.
Nour El- Din accuses Abu Gahga of being an unknown extremist, whose group numbers less than a hundred people. On the other hand, Nour El Din’s opponents accuse him of being an agent and a spokesman of the Belgian government.
Some consider these [Islamic] communities which practice its role under the supervision of the government unable to represent the youth. Especially the Moroccan and the Turkish Islamic communities in Belgium became more concerned about authority rather than preaching. This is because of the unemployment and frustration that face Muslim emigrants of the new generation.
Abu Gahga, a Belgian young man of a Lebanese origin, promotes himself as a leader among the general audience and radicals. He also asked the Belgian government to approve the Arabic language as the fourth official language, along French, Flamish and German. Moreover, he organized demonstrations to support the Palestinians.
Abu Gahga’s group, which is known as the Arab - European League photographes policemen attacking immigrants and later posts these photos in the streets. For these reasons, the Belgian authorities attempt to prohibit the activities of that league and the governor of the Antwerp has filed a lawsuit against Abu Gahga accusing him of racism.
Newsweek reported that it is an easy matter to put Abu Gahga aside and it is wrong to ignore the importance of finding new leaders for the Islamic communities. This importance is clearly reflected by the latest events in Belgium.
It might be considered that the immigrants of the first generation are guests in the countries they inhabited. But the problem is that the immigrants of the second and the third generation are still treated as second rate citizens. This presented an urgent need for youth to represent them and express their problems clearly and without concern.
What distinguishes the new leadership is the proficiency in dealing with the media and in using the language of the country they live in, and are acquainted to much of their county’s history and its domestic and foreign policy. This means that eventually the new leaders will replace the current moderate ones.
As Newsweek reports, the political agenda of European Muslims will be changed. Thus, the European governments should be concerned with this matter before facing more complicated problems.
