A Muslim preacher has been banned by Belgium from attending a Muslim Fair I,n Brussels because his anti-Semitic remarks and the threat to public order, the Belgian Interior Ministry announced.
Tareq Al-Suwaidan, who is a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait, was due to speak at the Muslim Fair at the end of this week.
Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon has ordered officials to “take the necessary steps to forbid Tareq Al-Suwaidan access to the area or to stay in it”, his office said in a statement.
Jambon and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said ‘’it was the only decision possible because this preacher has unacceptable anti-Semitic beliefs and his presence here is a threat to public order.”
In a sermon to Hamas which was later posted on the internet in July, in the midst of Israel’s Operation Protective Edge against Hamas, Al-Suwaidan described Israel as "a deviant country that is destined to be eradicated in its entirety," explaining that "We do not demand a ceasefire. Rather, we demand that the rockets continue to be launched until they bow before us.’’
He further stated : ‘’All the mothers of the Islamic nation – not only Palestinian mothers – should suckle their babies on the hatred of the sons of Zion. We hate them. They are our enemies. We should instill this in the souls of our children, until a new generation arises and wipes them off the face of the earth.Each and every one of us, when leaving this hall, should be contemplating a plan how to wipe out Israel.’’
The Belgian League against Anti-Semitism welcomed the government’s decision.“In the current explosive context, with issues around jihadists in Syria and Iraq and a few months after the attack on the Jewish museum, Belgium has to be extremely vigilant,” its president Joel Rubinfeld said.
Four people were killed in a terrorist attack at the Brussels Jewish Museum in May. Frenchman Mehdi Nemmouche is awaiting trial for the attack.
Reacting to the Belgian ban, Tareq Al-Suwaidan accused the ‘’Zionist lobby’’ in Belgium for the decision.