The deadly attacks in Paris are far not the first terrorist acts linked to a district of Brussels, namely Sint-Jan-Molenbeek (Molenbeek-Saint-Jean). We talked to Tom Van Grieken, chairman of Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) about the roots and solutions of this problem.
Vlaams Belang campaigns for closing borderes
How is this possible, that preparations of terrorist attacks take place in Molenbeek, a district of Brussels, which is full of well protected EU and NATO institutions?
Molenbeek has been a problem-area and a jihadi-hotbed for a long time already. More than 10 years ago, there was already a link established between the Madrid bombings and Molenbeek. Since then, the situation has gotten progressively worse. A combination of bad leadership in the commune, most notably by ex-mayor Philippe Moureaux (Socialist Party), and a ‘laissez-faire’-attitude on a national level is the main cause for this. The socialist party, which has been the leading party in the Brussels region since long, never dared to question certain beliefs and problems caused by Muslim minorities for the simple reason that they could count on a lot of votes from that community, which kept them in power. The refusal to address this problem in any way is the main cause of the situation Molenbeek is in today. My party, the Vlaams Belang, was the only party that dared to address these problems. All other parties refuted to calling us names and blemished us as racists, simply for stating the obvious truth. Political correctness is at the root of this problem: in order to stay ‘political correct’, they have put their heads in the sand.
The problem exists throughout the country?
Today, I fear that the problem of radicalisation in Molenbeek is nothing more than a reflection of wider problems across Belgium. The fact, that over 400 people with Belgian nationality have travelled to the Middle East to join ISIS, proves my claim. Per capita, Belgium has the most foreign fighters to join ISIS. These numbers speak for themselves. In short: the combination of unlimited migration from mostly countries in the Middle East and Africa, and the lack of any reaction against the growing islamisation of certain neighbourhoods, have made Belgium, and in particular Molenbeek the jihadi-hotbed it is today.
What measures should be taken according to Vlaams Belang?
If we want to counteract this, we will have to dare to take some severe measures. First, we have to close our borders and have to permanently guard them. Second, we have to dare to conclude that a lot of Muslims who live in this country, are not interested in participating in our society. Recent research proves that two thirds of them believe that the Quran is more important than our laws. For those people, there shouldn’t be a place in our country. Where we can, we should dare to take their nationality away. Third, a lot of mosques have played an important role in the radicalisation of Muslim youths. Throughout the years, the government always refused to close those mosques, even though they knew what was preached there. Some even receive government donations. This has to stop. Radical mosques have to be closed. Also, the state security service has to receive more funding in order to effectively combat Muslim extremism. To this day, they receive far too little. Finally, today, Belgium counts more than 700.000 Muslims amongst its inhabitants. Denying that this has something to do with the growing radicalisation, would be madness. Therefore we have to stop accepting immigrants from Muslim countries.
The EU and NATO institutions are protected, but does this mean that the people of Belgium are safe too?
I fear that the citizens in this country are not safe. Certain areas in big cities like Brussels are classified as so-called no-go-zones by the police. It is only logical to conclude that those zones are also unsafe for normal citizens. As I said in my previous answer: if our state security doesn’t get the necessary funding, there is nothing they can do to prevent future attacks like the one in Paris.
Can we conclude that the integration of a large part of immigrants was unsuccessful?
We can definitely conclude that the integration is a total failure. Throughout the years, this country has accepted countless immigrants from all over the world, without managing to integrate them in our society. The majority non-European immigrants don’t work and lives of benefits, even those who have been here for many years. More than half of the people in our prisons don’t even have the Belgian nationality! The conclusion that the mainstream political parties in this country make from that, is that this is mostly due to ‘racism’ and a lack of understanding for their specific culture by the indigenous people of this country. Countless billions of euros have been spent on all kinds of programs, societies, etc. in order to rectify this situation. Needless to say, most of that was wasted money. My party believes that people who are accepted in our society, should do an effort to fit in, learn our language and find work. People who don’t make an effort or who commit crimes, should be expelled. More of an effort should be put in effective repatriation. Like this, it should be possible to get rid of the bad apples.
