Brussels: Europe and Arabs

The Muslim communities in Belgium were subjected to a painful blow, represented by the announcement by the Minister of Justice in the Belgian government to permanently withdraw recognition of the executive body that was looking after the affairs of Muslims in the country. The commission and its committees, and also because of the security reports that indicated the involvement of some elements of activists within the commission working for the intelligence of the countries to which they belong, as well as the presence of extremist ideas in some mosques affiliated with leaders in the Executive Board of Muslims
The Belgian minister said on Thursday that he withdrew the recognition of the executive body after he had previously mentioned this matter last February. The media in Brussels considered this matter as paving the way for the possibility of forming a new body for Muslims in Belgium. In a statement to “Europe and the Arabs,” Sheikh Noureddine Al-Taweel commented, One of the most prominent preachers in Belgium, said, "God, I am saddened by what this representative institution has achieved due to mismanagement, lack of wisdom, and the shortsightedness of some members, who have lost the gains we built over many years."
According to local media, the decision taken by the Minister of Justice came after a long battle between Minister Van Kuekenborn and the Islamic Executive. She added, "It has been discredited several times in recent years. For example, a state security report leaked last year, which attributed to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Houston Zolder an "important role" in the spread of extremist ideas. It is precisely Mehmet Ostun, the head of the Islamic Executive Board, responsible for this mosque. Foreign interference, potential extremist influences, and a lack of female representation also remained a cause for concern." The minister had asked the executive body, after disbursing it a subsidy of more than 500,000 euros annually, to carry out comprehensive reforms for "a comprehensive, pluralistic, representative and transparent body." He also demanded that work should be done to create a more modern Belgian version of Islam, without influence from countries such as Morocco or Saudi Arabia, but the negotiations were very difficult.
"bad management"
Moreover, according to Minister Van Quekenborn, there has been "improper management" in the executive body for some time. For example, elections were not organized for a period of 2.5 years, although the term of the current directors has long expired. Nor has the board met since October 2019.
"I have decided to withdraw the recognition," Van Queckenborn told Die Tide. "We want to pave the way for a representative, transparent and professional Muslim CEO." Until that happens, no more subsidies will be paid.”
Speaking on Belgian Radio 1, Van Koueckenborn said Thursday that he could not take his eyes off the "hobby" in the Islamic executive. I didn't make that decision overnight. But at a certain point you have to specify: it's over, there is no innovation, there are no elections. And then you have to take that step.” The minister also emphasized that there was no vacuum now and that current affairs - administrative tasks such as the recognition of local religious communities by states - were still being monitored in the meantime.
About a million Muslims of different nationalities live in Belgium, most of them are Moroccans and Turks, and they have hundreds of mosques in various Belgian cities, especially in Brussels, Antwerp, Liege, Ghent and others.