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Disclaimer: I'm not coming out of retirement.. but I thought this was interesting, and couldn't find an English source to show people. The story started when a teacher was accused of sexually abusing kindergarten kids in the Antwerp school De Blokkendoos, this past June.  For days parents protested outside the school, and finally the school was forced to close a week ahead of the summer vacation. The teacher and administration of the school also received death threats and had to go into hiding.  The case has not been officially closed, but the Mayor of Antwerp Bart De Wever recently announced that the teacher had been wrongly accused. And this is where it gets interesting. It turns out that the mother who first complained is Najat Mejdoubi, who said the teacher had raped and abused her 4-year old son.  Majdoubi is a member of Sharia Sisters, a sister organization of Sharia4Belgium.  Dozens of parents joined in the accusations, three turned to the police. It's not cle...

Brussels: Six people charged in deadly exorcism of Muslim woman Via al-Arabiya : A court in Brussels opened on Monday the trial of six people charged in connection with the 2004 murder of a young Muslim woman in a deadly act of exorcism, a practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person believed to be possessed. The woman was reportedly deceived into believing that she could not have children because she was possessed and that she had to undergo a practice of exorcism. But the woman apparently could not stand the severe punishment the exorcism allegedly entails to scourge the demon out of the body, and she lost her life. The detainees in the case include two self-appointed exorcists, the victim�s husband and three female members of a radical Muslim group, will be standing trial for three weeks and facing charges of �torture leading to death.� If they are convicted, they face up to 30 years in prison. ( source )

Belgium: 60% immigrants by 2060 Via VRT : An immigration report by think-tank Itinera says that 25% of the people in Belgium have at least one parent born abroad. Half a million people immigrated to Belgium in the last decade, 4.5% of the population.  "There total there are about 10% foreigners, 7.5% Belgians of immigrant origin and 7.5% are 2nd and 3rd generation immigrants," says researcher Laurent Hanseeuw.  "That doesn't mean that those 25% aren't Belgians, but it's always interesting to show that the proportion is much greater than 50 years ago, and that it will certainly grow." According to official figures, just 3% are registered as foreigners.  Itinera says that because so many people are cut from those figures, there's is a systematic under-estimation "Our country has become a true migration nation," says Hanseeuw.  "By 2060, 60% of the population will be of foreign origin."  But the immigration policy is not prepared for...

Belgium: Moroccan Expatriates to Back Development Initiatives at Home Via StarAfrica : IOM and the Belgian Embassy in Rabat have signed an agreement to launch an innovative project aimed at encouraging Moroccans living in Belgium to start businesses back home in Morocco. The EUR 1.2 million, two-year programme seeks to encourage Moroccan expatriates to invest their savings, knowledge and expertise into the setting up of private ventures that will further the development of impoverished regions in the north and east of the country.   ( source )

Belgium: 1.3 million immigrant voters Via Knack : According to sociologist Jan Hertogen, about 1.3 million immigrants will participate in the next municipal elections.  They are required by law to vote because they were naturalized (1.1. million) or because they signed up for the elections (0.2 million).  In total they make up 16.7% of the voters: 9.8% in Flanders, 18.1% in Wallonia and 62.3% in the Brussels Region.  In Antwerp they make up 36.3% of the voters, in Ghent 25.8% and in Mechelen 22.8%. 89.2% of Turks are obligated to vote, as well as 88.4% of Moroccans, 75.4% of Italians, 56.2% of French immigrants and 47.8% of Dutch immigrants. Of the 575,000 foreigners who will not participate in the elections: 100,000 are from outside the EU and about 475,000 are from the EU.

Belgium: Moroccans upset at immigrant 'starter kit' Via HLN : The Moroccan community is upset at Flemish Minister Geert Bourgeois. "In his new 'starter kit' for migrants he portrays Moroccans as stupid beasts," says actor Noureddine Farihi.  "The brochure and accompanying video are patronizing and full of prejudices."  Bourgeois says it's unjustified criticism.  "The majority of them happen to be very ignorant of our norms and values." "It is forbidden to hurt someone mentally or physically, including your partner or children."  That is just one of the many remarkable - and for Moroccans, offensive - sentences from the new ' Starterskit Migrating to Flanders '. Flemish Minister of Integration Geert Bourgeois (N-VA), flew to Casablanca specially this week in order to hand out the first copies.  At the local press conference there was a lot of criticism from local journalists.  But the Moroccan community in Flanders are ...

Belgium: Belgium's integration problem Via New Europe : In Europe, and especially in Belgium, most Muslims are part of the underclass. As immigrants, most have come from underdeveloped nations, many as economic and political refugees. As such, they have often lacked the skills necessary for success in the labour market. That reality, combined with discrimination by the native population, has led to sub-average economic conditions for Europe�s Muslims. The social and civil status of religion is another key factor in the integration process of Muslims in Belgium. European secularism has traditionally meant that political power interacts in a neutral manner with religious institutions. Three scenarios for the future of Muslims in Belgium are possible: acceptance, avoidance, or resistance. Professor Jocelyne Cesari of Harvard University says that these three possible Muslim attitudes subtend the multiplicity of discourses and actions in the name of Islam, whether they are oriented towa...

Belgium: Homophobic murder might be xenophobic hate crime as well Update to this story: Belgium: Moroccan killed in first homophobic murder VRT news reports as follows : The four suspects have all been apprehended. Just like the victim, all four are of foreign descent. Three have a Belgian passport, one a Turkish passport. According to the suspects, the victim "made advances". The judicial authorities were hesitant about the homophobic motives at first, but later during the day they changed the charges after a fourth suspect confessed that they "wanted to teach the man a lesson", Het Laatste Nieuws reports. The four suspects are Eric Parmentier, Jeremy Wintgens, Jonathan Lekeut and Mutlu Kiziaslan. Based on their names, the suspects might be of 'foreign descent', but they are not Muslim (with the possible exclusion of the Turkish suspect).  The family thinks the murderers were both homophobic and xenophobic.

Belgium: Moroccan killed in first homophobic murder Via VRT : On Sunday, the body of a 32-year-old man was found in a field in Villers-le-Temple, between the cities of Huy and Li�ge in Wallonia. Four suspects have been apprehended, and there are strong indications that they had homophobic motives. The case is causing commotion both in Wallonia and in Flanders. The man had gone missing one week before his body was discovered in Li�ge province. "The victim left a bar and was approached by four men in a car. He entered the car voluntarily. A couple of hours later, nothing was heard of him and a friend informed the police", Dani�le Reynders of the Li�ge judicial authorities explains. The four suspects have all been apprehended. Just like the victim, all four are of foreign descent. According to the suspects, the victim "made advances". ( source ) Fatima Omari, the lawyer of victim Ihsane Jarfi, published the family's statement , thanking all those who supported the...

Kenya: Belgian, German seized over suspected terror links Via the Daily Nation : Police in Lamu have arrested two foreigners suspected to be members of the Al-Shabaab terror group. Lamu East police boss Samuel Obara on Wednesday said the Tunisian born men were Belgian and German citizens. ( source )

Flanders: Muslims upset at Danni Lowinski episode Via HBvL (h/t RR): A recent episode of the Danni Lowinski series upset Muslims in Flanders.  In the episode, a Turkish girl wanted help as she was being forced to marry her cousin.  One of the characters, bicycle dealer Fuat, said: 'The Koran says that singles MUST marry.' Columnist Bahattin Kocak: "It's not in the Koran!  This is fiction, but I think it's a pity that something like that is proclaimed as truth.  This way a million viewers, of whom just a minority know the Koran, get a negative opinion about its content." VTM apologized if they didn't always show 'a nuanced image of the Turkish community'.  The broadcaster stressed that Danni Lowinski is a fictional show which exaggerates issues, people and problems.

Belgium: Moroccan PM insults female minister, Moroccan-Belgian MPs want Belgian response Via HLN : Moroccan PM Abdelilah Benkirane recently met in Rabat with two Belgian ministers: Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders (MR) and Justice Minister Annemie Turtelboom (Open Vld).  However, during the meeting he barely paid attention to Turtleboom, and instead focused on her male colleague, Reynders.  Benkirane praised Reynders' French, and told him he 'didn't have to come with an interpreter'.  Turtleboom made it clear who she was, but Benkirane continued to ignore her.   Turtleboom was upset, but swallowed the insult since she didn't want to cause a diplomatic row.  Moroccan-Belgian MPs say her reaction is unblievable, and that Belgium should respond. Yamila Idrissi (sp.a) and Nadia Sminate (N-VA) say that Turtleboom should have walked out of the meeting.  But Idrissi says it's not too late for a response.  "Belgium shouldn't leave things like that a...