BELGIUM: Sharia law without firing a shot or flying planes into buildings

 Philip Claeys, a Member of the European Parliament for Flanders with the Vlaams Belang, a Flemish nationalist party that is opposed to multiculturalism and further Muslim immigration, said: “It is very worrying to see what is happening. We see people with an Islamic background forming their own political party and demanding the introduction of Sharia law and an Islamic state in Belgium. Until now Muslim people mainly supported Socialist parties and other leftist parties. But now they feel confident enough to establish their own party.”

Claeys said he believes it is a “big problem” when people who move to Belgium do not respect the separation of Mosque and State, or the equality of men and women and the rule of law. He said: “We should put a stop to this mass immigration of people coming from outside Europe, mainly Islamic countries, of people who cannot and will not adapt to our way of living in Western Europe.”

The parliamentary initiative is in response to Lhoucine Aït Jeddig and Redouane Ahrouch, both from the fledgling Islam Party, who in October 2012 won seats in two heavily Islamized municipalities of Brussels, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean and Anderlecht, respectively. 

During a post-election press conference in Brussels on October 25, the two councilors, who were officially sworn in on December 3, said they regard their election as key to the assertion of the Muslim community in Belgium.

Ahrouch said: “We are elected Islamists but above all we are Muslims. Islam is compatible with the laws of the Belgian people. As elected Muslims, we embrace the Koran and the tradition of the Prophet Mohammed. We believe Islam is a universal religion. Our presence on the town council will give us the opportunity to express ourselves,” said Ahrouch, who refuses to shake hands or make eye contact with females in public.

The Islam Party, which plans to field candidates in European-level elections in 2014, campaigned on three core issues: ensuring that halal [religiously permissible] meals are served in public school cafeterias, securing the official recognition of Muslim religious holidays, and pushing for a law that would legalize the wearing of Islamic headscarves in public spaces.

Ahrouch previously founded a political party called “Noor: Le Parti Islamique,” which promotes a 40-point program based on Sharia law. These points include, among other items: 7) abolishing interest payments [riba] in the Belgian banking sector; 10) redesigning the Belgian judiciary to comply with Islamic law; 11) restoring capital punishment; 12) prohibiting alcohol and cigarettes; 15) promoting teenage marriage; 16) segregating males and females in public spaces; 20) outlaw gambling and the lottery; and 39) creating an official Islamic alms fund [Zakat].

Ahrouch says that his ultimate goal — creating an Islamic state in Belgium based on Islamic Sharia law — has not changed.