An Islamic hate preacher plans to settle in Belgium as soon as he is officially expelled from the country by France. This is reported by journalist Mohamed Sifaoui, a generally well-informed radicalization expert. “We must at all costs avoid that someone like Hassan Iquioussen can continue his activities here”, says Member of Parliament Dries Van Langenhove (Vlaams Belang). “The Belgian government may under no circumstances grant him access to the country.”
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin tweeted yesterday that Iquioussen is no longer welcome on French territory. “This clergyman has for years held a hate speech against the values France stands for. He opposes our principles of secularism (the belief that religion and faith should not influence society; ed.) and equality between men and women.”
Iquioussen has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and has made several calls for violence against the Jewish community in the past. In addition, he would also feed all kinds of conspiracy theories about Islamophobia. He is very present on social media, with 43,000 followers on Facebook as a result. He has an even larger following on YouTube with 169,000 fans.
“Convicted on the basis of white paper”
Already on June 22, a favorable advice was given to expel Iquiousse from the country. Today he should have received the official warrant. His lawyer is now considering going to the European Court of Human Rights.
“They judge him on the basis of a white sheet”, Lucie Simon says. “There are hardly any images of these allegedly radical meetings. On the other hand, there are more than a thousand videos that he himself has put on the internet. In it he speaks countless times for the values of the Republic and against xenophobia. And if he is such a danger to France, why has he never been prosecuted? This is just plain political expediency.”
Iquiousen’s French nationality was revoked, leaving now only the Moroccan one. “If he has to go back to Morocco, we fear – given his political convictions – for his life,” it sounds.
“Not another haunt of Islamism”
That is why Iquioussen would now strongly consider a move to Belgium. For Van Langenhove, this is without a doubt a thorn in the side. “It’s bad enough that ISIS women have been able to return recently. By looking away from various governments, Islamic hate preachers have been able to operate here undisturbed for years and Molenbeek has been able to grow into a hotbed of extremism. Let’s not forget this and prevent new hate preachers from settling here.”
MR chairman Georges-Louis Bouchez also opposes in sharp terms. “If this information is correct, we must take action. Belgium must not become the haunt of Islamism in Europe, as has happened too often in the past.”
Georges-L BOUCHEZ
@GLBouchez
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