What’s next for the Muslims of Belgium?

Belgium imposed a ban on Islamic veils in public spaces in 2012, further isolating the Muslim community

Tuesday’s attacks at the airport and a rail station in Brussels claimed 34 lives and left dozens injured. So far, six arrests have been confirmed as operation cleanup continues. This begs the question: Why do terrorists operate with a level of comfort in Brussels, and what is in store for foreign-origin Muslims including Pakistanis?

Let’s first take a quick tour of the country and its pluralistic capital.

It’s not just a canal that splits Brussels into east and west. The capital of European politics and culture has more fault-lines than normal. The city of 1.4 million inhabitants is a microcosm of the continent’s linguistic differences such as the Dutch-speaking north, the French-speaking south and German-speaking commune in the southeast. The complex layers enveloping the Belgian capital are partly to blame for the latest in a litany of terrorist attacks since 2014.



Belgium has no dearth of critics, many of whom called it a failed state. You do not hear this for the media has politely downplayed the jibes taken by academics and politicians alike. As far back as 1998, Kris Deschouwer and Lieven De Winter forewarned Brussels through their landmark work titled ‘Où va la Belgique?’ (Whither Belgium?)

High on federalism, the country has been a playground for various legitimate but dated movements as well as arms and drug mafia. Molenbeek, now seen as a cradle of radicalism in the cosmopolitan capital, is what Brixton in London or Brooklyn in New York used to be in terms of crimes, diversity and alienation.

The borough – home to around 100,000 people, 40%t of whom are Muslims – first began to fill up with Turkish and Moroccan immigrants half a century ago. Yes, Pakistanis have found refuge in the shantytown too. Though European media is exaggerating the presence of no-go areas for police, the unemployment in the commune here soars up to 40%. The infrastructure is old and markets are run down. Though I visited Molenbeek in 2006, fresh videos show that nothing has changed for the better.

Belgium’s Muslim population is a casualty of unemployment, discrimination and split identities. The country imposed a ban on Islamic veils in public spaces in 2012, further isolating the Muslim community from the Catholic majority. The right wing in Europe has tended to be more rash than rational.

Almost every election ends in political compromises in a bid to form coalitions, resulting in further devolution of power. The state has become increasingly unassertive in the country dominated by divisions in regions or languages instead of nationalism. Too much bureaucracy was fed with ridiculously heavy taxation, which the mafias countered with corruption and tax evasion. The courts are painstakingly slow in deciding urgent matters while security infrastructure is too meager. For instance, the shortfall of 150 intelligence officers identified at the time of Charlie Hebdo attacks still remains. The strength of its secret service stands at 600 officials with another 50 under training.



A heavy-handed response

Marred with organic and structural problems, such as too much bureaucracy and lack of reforms in judicial and political systems, Belgium is gearing up to take on terrorism head on. The EU capital is buzzing with demands of right-wing leaders for an end to open borders under the Schengen accord and dealing with Muslim extremism with an iron fist. From Italy’s right-wing Northern Leaguer Gian Marco Centinaio to France’s far-right icon Marine Le Pen to UK’s Independent Party spokesman Mike Hookem and Belgium’s own Vlaams Belang, calls for hyper nationalism and racial and religious exclusion of the other echo from all sides.

With the country in a state of lockdown, Interior Minister Jan Jambon vows to clean up Molenbeek. Heavily armed security teams are already conducting raids putting everyone at gunpoint and often leaving empty handed. More of this is set to happen not only in Molenbeek but across the country. When leaving, the security personnel offer no apology for invading the privacy of women and harassing children and elders.

A military action based on the presumptions that “they secretly support terrorists” and “they’re all somehow involved in the plot” may be a dangerous strategy to adopt but Belgium seems to have no other ideas. For its divisive politicians, it is the time to show muscle and silence the taunts.



As long as threats of such attacks remain ‘serious and imminent’, Muslims, including Pakistanis, will remain in the eye of the storm. While the Belgian problems of disenfranchisement and segregation in suburbs and radicalisation in the prisons are similar to France and Italy, it lacks national spirit and political maturity.

Additionally, several layers of government and multiple official languages hamper the flow of information amongst investigators. The models of post-9/11 US or post-7/7 UK can’t be applied here either. Contrary to France where Muslims are rather well integrated and play a significant role in policing and intelligence gathering, Belgium needs time to get there. Across-the-board searches, large-scale arrests and mass deportations further alienate impoverished ethnic and religious minorities.

The challenge at hand is an indictment of Belgium’s blemished political and executive practices.

Naveed Ahmad is a Pakistani investigative journalist and academic with extensive reporting experience in the Middle East and North Africa. He is based in Doha and Istanbul. He tweets @naveed360