"Radical Islam wide-spreading in Belgium"

by Roni Alasor

Brussels, 9 February 2017 - Middle East Diplomatic (MED) - According to a report by the Belgian Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis (OCAM), radical Islam is spreading in Belgium through the "Salafist missionary apparatus". The report leaked to the Belgian Mediahuis group newspapers, warns that "An increasing number of mosques and Islamic centres in Belgium are controlled by Wahhabism".

Already in October 2015, the United Nations Working Group, lead by human rights expert on terror Elizabeth Karska, warned that the number of Belgian foreign fighters become the “highest in Europe per capita among those travelling to join conflicts abroad such as in Syria and Iraq”. Security and intelligent sources do believe that there are between 400-500 Islamic extremists in Belgium.

There are several hundreds of Islamic mosques and centers in Belgium, not all of them are registered and legally recognised. Most of the mosques and centers are under the influence of Islamic-Arabic countries as Saudi Arabia, also Shiia Iran and Sunni Turkey are active. Only the Turkish Diyanet Vakfi in Belgium, which is controlled by the Turkish state, has over 65 Sunni mosques and several centers in Belgium.

Many Belgians do believe that, their country, which is considered as an open and democratic society with human rights and fundamental freedoms, is often misused as a base for the radical Islamic activities and criminality. Experts estimate that there are around 700.000 Sunni-Shia-Alevit and Ahmadi Muslims living in all Belgium which has over 11 million population.

However, the leaked OCAM report focuses only on Wahhabism, a radical branch of Sunni Islam spread as dominant in Saudi Arabia. According the report, several mosques in Belgium, mainly in Brussels, Antwerp and Mechelen, claim to be Wahhabis. OCAM says Wahhabism is "one-dimensional Islam, spreading in the Muslim world, including Muslim minorities in the West".

This radical Islam movement is also spreading all over Europe via Wahhabi televisions, online media and radical literature. "The moderate Imam in his mosque can do nothing about this media violence", concludes OCAM.