Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

There are 320 mosques in Belgium, 45 of which are in the capital Brussels, in addition to four large Islamic centers. Muslims in Belgium can practice their religious rituals quite freely under the protection of the Belgian constitution.



Does all this mean that the Muslim community in Belgium, which is about one million persons, is enjoying peace and stability?



Lately the situation of Belgian Muslims has changed completely. After September
11, Islam was put behind bars and became responsible for all the violence in the world.



Since January 2003, the Belgian Minister of Justice began having complete supervision over mosques. The Belgian authority made a condition that all the main points of mosque sermons must be translated before being delivered and must be tape recorded to be literally translated later.



Alima Bomadin is a member of the European parliament of Algerian origin. She said, "These days the word Islam arouses fears in Europe especially after the Western media had linked Islam to terrorism. Although the European leaders said very clearly that the war is against terrorism and not against Islam, but the wave of Islamophobia exceeded all the exerted efforts. We must persist in using the term "Islam of Europe" and not "Islam in Europe". This means Islam is an integral part of the European society and not an intruder on the European culture."



On the other hand, director of the Executive Council for Belgian Muslims,
Nour-Al-Din Malo Gahmom is known for his moderation and being open to other cultures as well as his continuous call to Arabs and Muslims in Belgium to fuse into European societies so that they not live in isolated islands.