Islamicization of Antwerp

http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/200...0315-9588r.htm

Islamicization of Antwerp
TODAY'S COLUMNIST
By Paul Belien
March 14, 2007


The decisive battle against Islamic extremists will not be fought in
Iraq, but in Europe. It is not in Baghdad but in cities like Antwerp,
Belgium, where the future of the West will be decided.
I recently met Marij Uijt den Bogaard, a 49-year-old woman who
deserves America's support at least as much as Iraqi President Jalal
Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Ms. Uijt den Bogaard was an Antwerp civil servant in the 1990s, who
spent many years working in the immigrant neighborhoods of Antwerp. There
she noticed how radical Islamists began to take over. "They work
according to a well-defined plan," she says.
One of the things Ms. Uijt den Bogaard used to do for the immigrants
was to assist them with their administrative paperwork. Quite a few of
them came to trust her.
About three years ago, young men dressed in black moved into the
neighborhoods. They had been trained in Saudi Arabia and Jordan and
adhere to Salafism, a radical version of Islam. They set up youth
organizations, which gradually took over the local mosques. "The
Salafists know how to debate and they know the Qur'an by heart, while the
elderly running the mosques do not," she said They also have money. "One
of them told me that he gets Saudi funds." Because they are eloquent, the
radicals soon became the official spokesmen of the Muslim community, also
in dealing with the city authorities. Ms. Uijt den Bogaard witnessed how
the latter gave in to Salafist demands, such as the demand for separate
swimming hours for Muslim women in the municipal pools.
Worried immigrants told Ms. Uijt den Bogaard what was happening. On
the basis of their accounts and her own experiences she wrote
(confidential) reports for the city authorities about the growing
radicalization. This brought her into conflict, both with the Islamists
and her bosses in the city.
The city warned her that her reports were unacceptable, that they
read like "Vlaams Belang tracts" (the Vlaams Belang is Antwerp's anti-
immigrant party) and that she had to "change her attitude." The Islamists
sensed that she disapproved of them. They might also have been informed,
because there are Muslims working in the city administration. One day,
when she was accompanied by her superior, she was attacked by a Muslim
youth. Her superior refused to interfere. When she questioned him
afterward he said that all the animosity toward her was her own fault.
In the end she was fired. She is unemployed at the moment and gets
turned away whenever she applies for another job as a civil servant. Last
week, she learned that city authorities have given the job of integration
officer, whose task it is to supervise 25 Antwerp mosques, to one of the
radical Salafists. Meanwhile, the latter have threatened her with
reprisals if she continues to speak out.
After her dismissal Ms. Uijt den Bogaard went to see Monica
Deconinck, a Socialist politician who is the head of the Antwerp social
department, to tell her about the plight of the Muslim women. Ms.
Deconinck said, "You have taken your job too seriously and tried to do it
too well," adding that she cannot help, although she sympathizes. Ms.
Uijt den Bogaard also went to see Christian Democrat and Liberal
politicians. They also refused to help her because they are governing the
city in a coalition with the Socialists. The only opposition party in
town is the Vlaams Belang.
According to Ms. Uijt den Bogaard, the reason why the Socialists, who
run the city, allow the Islamists to do as they please is because they
want to get the Muslim vote, which is controlled increasingly by the
Salafists who are in the process of taking over the mosques.
In a letter to city authorities she wrote: "You employ workers to
improve social cohesion in the city's neighborhoods. But if you do not
want to know what is damaging social cohesion, then you need not bother
sending those workers!... Employees who are confronted with this problem
[of Muslim radicalization] and investigate are silently removed, losing
their income and their reputation. That is censorship in the fashion of
political dictatorships. As a former member of your services I am shocked
to find myself in this position and to discover after years of service
that you have no policy whatever, either political or with regard to your
personnel."
Sadly, what is happening in Antwerp is not unique. The Salafists
employ the same strategy in other European cities. They boasted to Ms.
Uijt den Bogaard about their international network and their successes in
neighboring countries. While the Americans fight to secure Iraq, Western
Europe is becoming a hotbed of Salafism.

Paul Belien is editor of the Brussels Journal and an adjunct fellow
of the Hudson Institute.


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On Mon, 19 Mar 2007 20:55:59 +0000, BOLUDOVSKY wrote:

> While the Americans fight to secure Iraq

:-))))
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-_-_-_-
Maurice