The Flemish school board introduced a ban in September 2009 in the region’s Dutch-language public schools, along with a prohibition on the wearing of all religious symbols for pupils and teachers. Responding to a complaint by a Muslim student at a school in the northern town of Antwerp, Belgium’s state council — the highest authority…
Countries across the continent have wrestled with the issue of the Muslim veil – in various forms such as the body-covering burqa and the niqab, which covers the face apart from the eyes. The debate takes in religious freedom, female equality, secular traditions and even fears of terrorism. This article summarizes the current debates and…
In the wake of the controversial decision in Switzerland to ban future minaret construction, this report examines the question in Belgium, noting that there are 328 mosques in the country, and approximately 20 minarets, which are mostly located in Flanders, in Limbourg in particular. Generally speaking, there has been little controversy with their presence.
The minaret ban in Switzerland has had a continentwide response. Even as European human-rights courts began attempts to block the Swiss amendment, extremist politicians across Europe were examining their countries’ laws to see if a similar referendum could be accomplished. Far-right leaders have emerged from the woodwork in places like the Netherlands to push for…
Herman Van Rompuy has become the first president of Europe. Mr. Rompuy is a hard-line opponent of Turkey’s bid to join the European Union because it is an Islamic country. Van Rompuy, Belgium’s Prime Minister and a Christian Democrat, has in the past spoken out against Turkish EU membership because, he warned, it would dilute…
