TWMCC Organises Online Ramadan Lecture Entitled: 'Islam in Belgium Between the Present and the Past'
- 2024-Mar-17
The World Muslim Communities Council (TWMCC) organised a virtual Ramadan lecture entitled: 'Islam in Belgium Between the Present and the Past,' presented by Imam Sheikh Noureddin Tawil, Chairman of the General Assembly of Muslims in Belgium.
At the beginning, Sheikh Noureddin Tawil thanked the TWMCC and the United Arab Emirates for their interest in Islamic communities wherever they are.
He explained that Islamic communities began arriving to Belgium in 1964 after signing an international agreement to bring in labor, noting that about a million Muslims currently live in Belgium.
The Chairman of the General Assembly of Muslims in Belgium pointed out that the Islamic Cultural Centre in Brussels was established in the late 1950s and is considered one of the most important Islamic centres in Western Europe at all.
Sheikh Noureddin Tawil confirmed that the atmosphere of Islam in Belgium during the 1960s was completely different from today in terms of the numbers of mosques and Islamic centres, the availability of halal food, etc.
The Chairman of the General Assembly of Muslims in Belgium considered that the history of Islam in Belgium is very rich, explaining that the Belgian state officially recognised Islam in the country in 1974.
Sheikh Noureddin Tawil pointed out that in 1975, the Belgian state approved the introduction of Islamic education lessons into the school curricula for the community’s children, and in 1978 the new Islamic Cultural Centre was opened in Brussels after its restoration and expansion.
He added, 'In 1982, the Muslim World League began supervising the Islamic Cultural Centre, and in 1983 Brussels witnessed the opening of the first European Islamic institute, and the first prayer hall was opened at the Belgian capital’s airport in 1986 under the supervision of the Islamic Cultural Centre.'
He pointed out that in 2023, a new council was recognised in Belgium, which is the Belgian Islamic Council, to be responsible for organising the election of new members to represent Muslims in the country.
The Chairman of the General Assembly of Muslims in Belgium saw that the Islamic religion in Belgium is witnessing a growing demand for its embrace by the Belgian people and large sectors of Europeans residing in Belgium.
TWMCC is an international non-governmental organisation, and a think tank to help organisations and associations working in Muslim communities, renew their thinking, improve their performance, and coordinate their joint work.
