In Belgium, the government no longer wants to recognize the representative body of the Muslim faith
The Executive of the Muslims of Belgium (EMB), representative body of the Islamic worship in the country, could no longer be recognized by the federal government of the country. The Minister of Justice, Vincent Van Quickenborne, indeed explained, in an interview with a Flemish radio on Friday February 18, that he had led to a procedure for the withdrawal of recognition from the EMB.
This decision would mean “stopping subsidies” handed over to this body(nearly €600,000, editor’s note)and the end of its role of representation, specified the Minister of Justice who is also responsible for the management of worship. This choice echoes, in France, that dismissing the French Council of Muslim Worship (CFCM) in January.
→ REMINDER. The government wants to replace the CFCM as the official interlocutor of the Muslim faith
According to the Federal Minister, the EMB “can no longer be a chat partner”. He mentions in particular his lack of representativeness of the Belgian Muslim community to justify this decision. The body is regularly questioned for its lack of transparency and the foreign interference to which its mosques are subject.
An internal functioning that is debating
Since its creation in 1996, the Executive of Muslims in Belgium has also been plagued by numerous internal tensions and dysfunctions. In October 2021, the dissemination of a State Security report indicated that the Sultan-Ahmet mosque in Heusden-Zolder (province of Limburg) played a role “significant” in the spread of extremism in the region. The president of the EMB (since 2018), Mehmet Üstün, is directly concerned because he leads this place of worship.
France “warns” Turkey, accused of “interference”
Already in December, the Belgian government announced that it would not issue public subsidies in 2022. At the same time, several members of the body executed legal proceedings to demand better management. “The EMB is quite contested for its mode of representation and should have already renewed its administrative team since 2020”explains Islamologist Michaël Privot.
Foreign inferences
More than anything, the reproaches focus around the “foreign interference, from Turkey and Morocco” says the Islamologist. Countries from which the Muslim communities of Belgium largely come. “The challenge for these countries is to continue to control their diaspora through mosques and the appointment of imams. They therefore have a direct influence. explains Michaël Privot. For President Erdogan’s Turkey, the main challenge is to ensure the political support of the diaspora.
→ READ. Management of the Grand Mosque of Brussels withdrawn from Saudi Arabia
“What is very symbolic for Morocco is to succeed in getting their hands on the Great Mosque of Brussels”, says the Islamologist. In January 2020, the Minister of Justice made a strong gesture by dismissing Salah Echallaoui, accused by State Security of spying for Morocco. Vice-president of the EMB and president of the Grand Mosque of Brussels since April 2020, he had to resign from his post.
“Legal Battle”
After the announcement of the procedure for the withdrawal of recognition of the EMB, its president, Mehmet Üstün, made it known in a press release that he wished “that the Minister of Justice respect the rule of law and the constitutional principles of our country. The Muslim faith has the autonomy to organize itself and does not need interference from the political world..
The process intended to put an end to the recognition of the representative body is however likely to last, according to Michaël Privot: “We can expect a legal battle from the EMB, which is not going to let go. The question then arises, for Muslims, to benefit from another body that represents them. »