Minister of Justice Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open Vld) starts the procedure to withdraw the recognition of the Muslim executive. He announced this on Friday in ‘The morning’ on Radio 1. The organ “can no longer be a discussion partner”, he said.
The Muslim Executive, officially the Muslim Executive of Belgium, is the official representation of the Islamic religion in our country. This is accompanied by approximately 600,000 euros in subsidies per year, but there has been dissatisfaction with the functioning of the Muslim Executive for years. For example, the operation is not transparent, the structure is unclear and there is strong foreign interference from Turkey and Morocco. A State Security report linked chairman Mehmet Üstün to extremism a few months ago.
For Minister Van Quickenborne, enough is enough. He has decided to initiate proceedings to revoke the Muslim executive’s recognition, he announced on the radio. This means that the official role of the body will disappear, as will the subsidies.
The organization is not representative of all Muslims in our country
“The organization is not representative of all Muslims in our country,” said Van Quickenborne. “You see an older generation that has lost touch with the young Muslims who rule here. That is bad for modern Islam. This executive can no longer be an interlocutor. The renewal proposal they have made is full of missed opportunities.”
Van Quickenborne emphasizes that the states can still recognize individual mosques. The Muslim executive himself also has the right to be heard.
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