Under the title ( Together against Hate ), Brussels is witnessing a march
on Tuesday, involving religious figures representing the three sects: Islam, Judaism and Christianity; leaders of religious organizations such as the European Jewish Community Center (EJCC), the Executive of Belgium Muslims (EBM), and the Organization of Churches of Europe. The march will move in a number of streets to reach the headquarters of the institutions of the European Union.
The call to this march came afterrecent terrorist attacks against Christians, Jews, and Muslims in various partsof the world in latest months. So, religious leaders, civil societyrepresentatives, and thought leaders from Brussels decided to organize thismarch to show unity and stand up against hatred.
The march comes a few weeks after theattacks on churches in Sri Lanka and two mosques in New Zealand, as well as theJewish synagogues that suffered terrorist attacks, most notably the JewishMuseum in Brussels in May 2014.
The organizers issued a statementsaying: "We representatives of different faiths and beliefs are veryconcerned about the rise of hatred in our society. Recent opinion polls andelections in some regions of the world, which took place before the European legislativeelections, all point to the rise of populism and extremism on both sides of thepolitical spectrum. This reflects the rejection of an open, tolerant, andinclusive society… But we, the participants in this march, reject this, andit is our duty to raise awareness of the danger of extremism. We have to sayloud and clear that Jews, Christians, and Muslims stand together, and toconfirm our adherence to diversity, that's why we will join together in a marchagainst hatred."
The event will also be attended bypolitical figures and officials of the European Union, and will be anopportunity for all to express solidarity, strong ties, determination, andcommitment to mutual respect and democratic values, according to the statement.
Last month, the Belgian governmentrecognized the growing number of militant organizations in the country,
Justice Minister Jens Quinn said during a responseto an inquiry by MP Leonel Biggart, but the minister stressed that extremism isnot limited to Islamic organizations; it is adopted by followers of otherreligions and faiths.
Security and political events inBelgium and other European countries have warned of growing extremism amongright-wing and left-wing extremists, and that some of them resort to violenceto express their situations and opinions.
This comes at a time of announcing theactivity of about one hundred extremist Islamic organizations, and has animpact on thousands of Muslims, according to the Belgian State SecurityService, and it is here, according to local media in Brussels, related to mosquesand Islamic centers and schools.
In October, it was decided to expandthe list of terrorism, issued by the Center for Terrorist Risk Analysis andCrisis Management in Belgium, and it would not be limited to the Islamicmilitants or those involved in going to conflict areas in Syria and Iraq tofight in the ranks of "ISIS" as 16 supporters of the country's far left, aswell as seven supporters of the far right, have been added.
Local media in Brussels said that itwas recently noted that anarchists were resorting to violence from L'aquale inthe French-speaking region of the country, some of whom are being prosecuted bythe federal prosecutor's office after they blocked the construction of a prisonin Harin municipality.
In the Flamani region, there is agroup of far right supporters in the east of the country, including ThomasPonts, who has already been sentenced to four years in a terrorism-relatedfile. The possibility of adding well-known figures, like the founder of Child& Friends organization.
According to some Belgian newspapers,some 20 far-right and far-left militants have been listed on the list ofsurveillance of Terror Threat Coordination and Analysis Unit. The list wasexpanded by royal decree, with the database no longer exclusively focused onradical Muslims, meaning that 23 new names were added to the list, including 16sympathizers of the far-left and seven sympathizers of the far-right.
