Gathering a diverse set of Liberal International Human Rights Committee (LIHRC) members, liberal politicians and representatives from across the civil society sector in Brussels this week, the LI Human Rights Committee met for the second time this year to discuss freedom of belief in an era of radicalization.
The first part of the event was hosted by the Mayor of Molenbeek (a municiplaity of Brussels), Francoise Schepmans (Mouvement Refarmatuer, LI full-member), at the Cultural Center of Molenbeek alongside Jo De Ro, Member of Palriament from Open VLD (LI full-member) and Olivier Vanderhaeghen, a Local Radicalisation Prevention Officer.
Chaired by Boris Van Der Ham, LI HRC Member and Former Member of Palriament (Democrats 66, LI full-member), the debate focused on the challenges of combatting radicalization and on the prevention of stigmatization of religious minorities.
Delivering welcoming remarks on behalf of the LI Bureau and LI HRC, Chair of LI HRC and LI VP on the Bureau Markus Loening explained that it is important to debunk the myth of Molenbeek as it is largely considered as a hot bed for terrorism in Brussels while at the same time Muslim residents of the minicipality are being discriminated on a daily basis.
Addressing the issue of integration, the Mayor said:
Belgium has been an immigration land for a long time but integration has not been prioritised. It is a challenge which needs to be addressed by both the federal government and municipalities.
De Ro explained that a specilisit on religious affairs has to be incorporated into the integration work in order for it to be effective whereas Vanderhaeghen stressed that religion is not the main driver of radicalisation but it is rather an ideological/identity problem stemming from social isolation and emotional fragility.
Radicalization needs a multi-disciplinary approach as it doesn’t take place in the mosque but rather in the public space. The emotional link between the radicalised person and his/her family needs to be re-enforced so that re-integration and social insertion in the society can be achieved.
he concluded.
The second part of the event was hosted by LI HRC Member and Member of the European Parliament Ilhan Kyuchyuk (MRF, LI full-member) at the European Parlaiment where speakers included Dr. Solomon Passy, Former Foreign Minister of Bulgaria, Abir Al-Sahlani, LI HRC Member and Former Member of Parliament (Centerpartiet, LI full-member), Sophie In’t Veld, Deputy Leader of the ALDE Group in the European Parliament (D66, LI full-member) and Adam Deen, Managing Director at the Quilliam Foundation.
Al-Sahlani spoke at length about the need for democratization in the Middle East in order to adress the underlying cause of fundametalism which in turn breathes extremism while In’t Veld insisted on removing class justice in order to prevent radicalization.
Dr. Passy enriched the discussions with presenting a perspective on the need to manage migration while Deen focused on the lack of tolerance created by extremism which in turn manifests into violence.
Acts of terrorism confirm that there is a clash of civilizations. Reform must come from within the Islamic tradition which has resources to bring about a liberal Islam
he further explained.
The concluding remarks of the debate were delivered by LI Past President Annemie Neyts (Open VLD, LI full-member) who emphasized that radicalization has become a “container phrase” as we don’t know what it means and therefore we need to invest in understanding the triggers of the problem.
The event also saw an evening reception hosted by Former ALDE Party President Sir Graham Watson at the Permanent Mission of Gibraltar, a working lunch hosted by LI President of Honour Hans Van Baalen MEP and the awarding of 2016 LI Prize for Freedom to the jailed Saudi liberal blogger Raif Badawi.
Sponsors to the event included the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF, LI Cooperating Organisation), the ALDE Party (LI Cooperating Organisation) and ALDE Group (LI Full-member).
