Flanders: Minister proposes youth movements for immigrants Via brusselnieuws.be : Flemish minister Pascal Smet (SP.A) is considering starting a special youth movement for and by immigrants. This after the Council of Europe concluded that the existing youth movements are not succeeding in bringing together Flemish and immigrant youth. The Felmish youth movement are split on the issue.
Belgium: Sharia bank accounts to be offered by Chaabi Bank Via HLN (Dutch): Moroccan bank Chaabi is considering launching Sharia bank accounts in Belgium, reports La Libre Belgique. Chaabi’s Belgian branch says they’re currently studying the idea and will soon consult the FSMA (Banking, Finance and Insurance Commission).
Flanders: 53% don’t want Muslim doctor Via Het Nieuwsblad (Dutch): 53% of the Flemish prefer not having a Muslim family doctor. 40% prefer a White doctor. 22% said they prefer not being treated by a gay doctor.
Belgium: Youth theaters complain about ‘Muslim prudishness’ Via De Telegraaf (Dutch, h/t NRP ): Jo Roets, artistic head of the Laika threater group, told newspaper De Morgen that prudishness among immigrant youth will be a hot item in the coming years. Immigrant teenagers shut their eyes or avert their heads when it comes to naked scenes.
Belgium: Self-immolation in apparent attempt to escape forced marriage Via Het Nieuwsblad (Dutch), RTL (French): A 16 year old North African girl set herself on fire in the La Louvière hospital Thursday. The girl had felt unwell at the end of the school day and had come to the hospital with her parents. Shortly before the hospital released her she slipped away
Belgium: Muslim executive ‘under control of foreign countries’ Via HLN (Dutch): “Belgian Muslim bodies are definitively under the control of foreign countries. The Muslim Executive will now be led only by people who will prioritze the interests of their land of origin over those of Belgian Muslims,” says the AMDB (Democaratic Alternative of Belgian Muslims), who say they unite ‘all components of the Muslim community’ in Belgium.
Flanders: “Imams hardly in touch with their local community” Via VRT : Research commissioned by the Equal Opportunities Support Unit shows that many of the imams who are working in Flanders hardly speak any Dutch, the language of their local community. In addition, they are hardly in touch with the local community.
Belgium: “Belgium is no Eldorado” Via VRT : Belgium’s brand new Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, Maggie De Block (Flemish liberal), presented her policy document to lawmakers on Wednesday.
Liege: Kurdish protest against Turkish air-raid A thousand Kurds protested in Liege (Belgium) yesterday against the Turkish government. 36 Kurds were killed in an air-raid by the Iraqi border Thursday.
KU Leuven: No exams on religious holidays Via VRT : Leuven University has decided to allow students to move the date of their exam if this conflicts with a holiday in their religion. The university has now drawn up a list of holidays that qualify.