Belgium

Traditionally, Belgium, a northern European country located between France and The Netherlands, has been a Catholic country. It also includes other Christian denominations—the Anglican Church, the Orthodox Church, and the Protestant Church—and Judaism has also been recognized by the state, along with Buddhism since 2008 and Islam since 1974. Muslims in Belgium are the result of immigration. In a period of booming economy, in the first half of the 1960s, the Belgian government made an appeal to Moroccan and Turkish workers. This was the start of massive immigration from these Islamic countries and to a lesser extent from other Islamic countries such as Algeria and Tunisia. The immigration still goes on, and in the course of time, many have acquired Belgian nationality. Although we may not equate ethnicity and religion, we can safely say that at present there are about 500,000–600,000 Muslims living in Belgium, including a small number of autochthones who converted to Islam. Half of them are concentrated in the Brussels region and about one quarter in the more industrial regions of Flanders and Wallonia. Consequently, Islam has become the second largest religion in Belgium, and due to the concentration of Muslims in specific localities, it has a very visible presence. According an international index of global communication, in 2008, Belgium was the most globalized of the 120 countries studied. Consequently, Belgians are well informed about global issues, including Islamic terrorism and new religious movements (NRMs); both Islam and NRMs have had political consequences in Belgium.

A Flemish political party that has a large following has been condemned for anti-Islamic racism and had to change its original name from Vlaams Blok to Vlaams Belang. It is strongly opposed to multiculturalism. It emerged in Antwerp, where there is a large concentration of Muslims, and some of its slogans are “Adapt or leave” and “Own people first.” Recently, a new song was heard: “Oh dear, oh dear, another mosque again.”

As far as NRMs are concerned, in 1996, parliament established a parliamentary commission to prepare a policy to identify the illegal practices of sects and the dangers they represent for society and for individuals, particularly minors. The conclusions of the commission were reported to the Chamber of Representatives on April 28, 1997. One of the most important outcomes of the report was the creation by law (June 22, 1998) of the Information and Advisory Centre on Harmful Sectarian Organizations. Its task, defined by law (Article 5, Section 1), include the study of the phenomenon in Belgium and the international ties of such organizations, establishment of a documentation center, giving information to the public and individual persons about their obligations and rights and how they can assert their rights, and advising on policy measures to combat such organizations.