Belgium: Two Newly Elected Muslim Politicians in Brussels Vow to Implement Sharia

Religion Today | Updated: Dec 06, 2012

Belgium: Two Newly Elected Muslim Politicians in Brussels Vow to Implement Sharia

Two Muslim politicians who won October municipal elections in Belgium's capital, Brussels, have vowed to implement sharia, or Islamic law, in Belgium, the Gatestone Institute reports. The two candidates, Lhoucine Ait Jeddig and Redouane Ahrouch, both from the fledgling Islam Party, won seats in two heavily Islamic municipalities of Brussels, and say they regard their election as key to the assertion of the Muslim community in the country. In a one-hour video of a post-election press conference, Ahrouch says at one point that he will strive to make sure the town council's "motions and solutions are durable and definitive and will emanate from Islam." The Islam party, which plans to field candidates in European-level elections in 2014, campaigned on three core issues: ensuring that halal meals are served in public school cafeterias, securing the official recognition of Muslim religious holidays, and pushing for a law that would legalize the wearing of Islamic headscarves in public spaces. Ahrouch has admitted he is taking a gradual approach, saying it may take decades to enforce sharia, but says his ultimate goal -- creating an Islamic state in Belgium -- has not changed. "I think we have to sensitize people, make them understand the advantages to having Islamic people and Islamic laws," he told a reporter. "And then it will be completely natural to have Islamic laws and we will become an Islamic state." Muslims now make up one quarter of the population of Brussels.



Belgium: Two Newly Elected Muslim Politicians in Brussels Vow to Implement Sharia