Opposition party Vlaams Belang has criticised Interior Minister Hilde Crevits’s decision to recognise 17 additional mosques.
Although party leader Chris Janssens commends the minister for not recognising any mosques from Diyanet or Milli Görüş, he believes that giving a positive endorsement to 17 other mosques is unacceptable for Vlaams Belang. “The Flemish government must cease subsidising a religion fundamentally incompatible with our Western values,” he stated.
Minister Crevits made a decision on 58 application files from local religious communities. She approved 26 applications but rejected 32 others for failing to meet the criteria. Notably, none of the Turkish Diyanet and Milli Görüş mosques received approval, due in part to insufficient financial transparency and the lack of secured usage rights for worship buildings.
“This finally acknowledges what we’ve been saying for decades: Diyanet mosques are directed by the Turkish government, and Milli Görüş acts as an instrument of political influence from Turkey,” stated Vlaams Belang leader Chris Janssens. He finds it “incomprehensible” that existing mosques from these organisations continue to retain their recognition and funding.
The party also regrets that 17 other mosque applications received approval. “Islam is a religion with rules and principles that clash with the values of our democratic society, such as gender equality, freedom of religious choice, and the separation of church and state,” emphasised the faction leader. Vlaams Belang insists that the government must stop funding Islamic religious communities.
