If you didn’t believe that Belgium was a hotbed for jihadis, then here is your proof. Instead of the ‘moderate’ Muslims mourning over the horrific loss of lives, they were celebrating in the streets.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (JTA) – In the days following terrorist attacks in Brussels, street celebrations broke out in several places in Belgium, the county’s vice prime minister said.
Jan Jambon made the statement about the March 22 bombings, which killed 35 people, on Wednesday during a symposium titled “Terrorism, Israel and International Law” and organized by the Dutch anti-racism and pro-Israel lobby group CIDI, or the Center of Information and Documentation on Israel, in The Hague.
Jambon, a rightist politician, made the remark while acknowledging Belgium has a jihadism problem. One of Europe’s smallest countries, Belgium is the continent’s biggest per capita source of jihadists fighting in Syria and Iraq, CNN reported. In February, Jambon revealed Belgium’s intelligence services have flagged 451 citizens as jihadists.
But, Jambon said, racial profiling of jihadists is ineffective. He also said jihadists hail from various backgrounds, “including doctors, lawyers, and common criminals,” and not only from poor environments. Only one in six jihadists comes from a poor home in Belgium, he said. Jambon urged better pan-European cooperation on terrorism.
Read more: JTA
