man wanted

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Brussels is currently under increased security after a French Islamist attacked two policemen in the subway on Friday night. It is said the man wanted to make the government change its position regarding the prohibition of the niqab in public spaces. After the riots that took place two weeks ago over the arrest of a woman that did not want to take her niqab off, this assault is of extreme concern in Belgium right now. After a few weeks of unrest, Belgium has heightened the terror alert level across the capital of the European Union since the end of last week. Tensions arose with the protests that took place in Molenbeek, a neighbourhood in Brussels which hosts a large Muslim community, after a woman got arrested because she refused to remove the niqab she was wearing. The integral veil is prohibited since 2011 in Belgium but the spokesman of Sharia4Belgium, a small group based in Antwerp that promotes radical Islamism, asked Muslims to demonstrate and show their anger regarding the arrest of the woman. Fouad Belkacem, the radical group's spokesman, got arrested for promoting hate and violence towards non-Muslims. Following the attack on two policemen, there is a sense of insecurity within the Belgian society, and the Muslim community is tired to be pointed out each time extremists act. For the moment, groups such as Sharia4Belgium cannot be banned. The authorities find themselves usually powerless to muzzle small groups that do not have any legal status. A law that prohibits incitement to commit crimes currently exists but the incitement needs to be direct. An indirect incitement is not enough. Charles Michel, the President of the MR, a right-wing party, would like to establish an obligatory integration course for immigrants. Unlike Flanders, the Walloon area of Belgium and Brussels do not have such courses. The two regions will legislate before the end of the year on this matter. Interior Minister, Joëlle Milquet, is preparing a plan to strengthen the fight against radicalism. She also says the legislations must be adapted in order to be able to ban radical associations and block websites that promote hate and violence. Currently, only individuals can be condemned for violent and hateful comments. This may change in the coming weeks in order to fight more efficiently against extremism. Frédéric Darmuzey, JN1, Brussels.