Images circulating on social media on Friday showed an imam quoting Koranic verses in the Brussels Parliament. An imam is a Muslim religious leader, especially the person who leads the prayers in the mosque. The Koran is the sacred book of Islam. The images have caused outrage. According to the French-speaking liberals of MR, such goings on are not in line with the "neutrality of the state" guaranteed by Belgium’s basic law. They want a commission to be set up to find out who was in parliament on that day, why, and what exactly happened.
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Indignation after imam quotes verses from the Koran in Brussels Parliament
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The images allegedly date from 13 January. Hasan Koyuncu (Francophone socialist/PS), vice-president of the Brussels Parliament, is said to have invited a delegation from the "Friends of Brussels" association - of which Pakistani imam Muhammad Ansar Butt is a member - to the Brussels parliament on that day. Those attending are said to have received an award: the "Brussels community award".
Clipped footage of the award ceremony shared on Facebook and YouTube by Nasir Mohammad, one of the Brussels city ambassadors for the PS, also shows Brussels state secretary for equal opportunities Nawal Ben Hamou (Francophone socialist/PS). We do not see the imam at the podium though videos of this are circulating online, but in footage we do see him sitting in the hemicycle.
In images shared by the Flemish nationalist federal MP Theo Francken, we see the same man at the speakers' podium in the Brussels parliament, quoting verses from the Quran.
"This is particularly questionable, even shocking," Mr Francken told Brussels media outlet Bruzz. "The separation of state and religion is sacred to me. For someone to come and recite Koranic verses in the parliament of Europe's capital is reprehensible."
At the Brussels MR party, the same message could be heard. "We have been fighting for the neutrality of the state for years," said Francophone liberal chair David Leisterh. He is demanding that a commission is set up to ensure that the imam is stripped of the distinction he received, to clarify who invited him and to find out whether the imam receives subsidies from the government. The MR also wants to see a list of all the people who received awards to check that there is no conflict with "our fundamental values".
Parliamentary visits at the request of an association or - as in this case - at the request of an MP take place regularly. Any elected member can organise a visit without having to notify the parliament's bureau.
Parliament Speaker
President of the Brussels parliament Rachid Madrane (Francophone socialist/PS) has also responded. "Parliament is the temple of democracy and must remain absolutely neutral," he told press agency Belga. He is said to have stressed this in a letter to all group leaders in the meantime.
The issue will also be put on the agenda of the next meeting of the parliament's bureau. Mr Madrane wants to propose that respect for neutrality be explicitly included in the parliament's rules.