Flemish schools report an increase in radicalisation and polarisation among their pupils. Both the Flemish Community Education Board GO! and the Flemish Catholic Schools Board say that the number of reports of radicalisation and polarisation among pupils is on the increase. Both the State Security Service and the terror-threat analysis body OCAD also note an increase in radicalisation and polarisation among young people.
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Schools note upsurge in radicalisation among their pupils
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Some, but by means not all, of the radicalised behaviour is inspired by Islam. For example, children that refuse to go on a school trip because they will be unable to pray at the appropriate time, girls that cover themselves from head to toe or boys that ritually wash their feet in the sinks at school.
In addition to religiously inspired radicalism, the number of reports of ultra-conservative and/or extreme misogynistic talk or behaviour among school pupils is also on the rise. This manifests itself in, for example, pupils refusing to cross at zebra crossings that have been painted in rainbow colours or pupils making derogatory comments about members of the LGBTQI+ community. There are also boys who no longer want to sit next to girls in class or ignore the orders of female teachers.
The Flemish Community Schools Board’s policy manager on radicalisation and polarisation Karin Heremans told VRT News that "The number of reports of radical comments or behavior has risen sharply recently. While in 2018 and 2019 we received just three or four reports per year, we are now receiving at three or four reports per day."
The Catholic Schools Board notes a similar trend. Recently the number of reports have risen sharply, a rise that has mainly been driven by the war between Israel and Hamas.
Islamism and the far-right
Ms Heremans sees a similarity between Islamism and extreme right-wing ideology. "The two share an anti-system ideology, misogyny, anti-LGBTQ philosophy and recently also anti-Semitism”.
The terror threat analysis body OCAD stresses that not every pupil that radicalises manifests their radicalisation through violence. Nevertheless, the increase in radicalisation and polarisation should not be ignored. Although, it will not publish complete figures until next year, OCAD says that since 2021 it has seen more and more appear in case files and reports. These reports concern minors that have the intention to commit terrorist acts.
"These are often young people who were not on the radar of the security services at all, but who become radicalised online," OCAD’s director Gert Vercauteren told VRT News. The State Security Service is also seeing more in the cases that it deals with.