Civil Unrest in Brussels

Esther at Islam in Europe reports that the Ramadan festivities are going with a bang in parts of Brussels, with several agents of the state beaten up, cars burnt, and immigrant gangs openly calling for violent insurrection:

The past couple of nights there were various disturbances and unrest in the Brussels suburbs of Anderlecht and Sint-Jans-Molenbeek. Different news reports give different accounts of what appears to be different or similar incidents.

Thursday night a stone was thrown at a police car in Moleenbeek. About an hour later youth set fire to car tyres and then threw stones at the police when they showed up. The police showed up and was confronted with about a hundred youth. Several cars and doors were vandalized. Wednesday afternoon a police patrol interrogating a victim of a violent robbery in the Anderlecht suburb of Brussels, was circled by a growing group of youth. The police felt threatened and called in reinforcements with police-hounds.

The inspection of Brahim (25) was also exceptionally difficult. Stones were thrown at the agents, and they decided to put the dogs back in the car and calm the situation. This didn't work. Brahim threw the inspector down the steps of a metro-station and beat him black-and-blue.

A colleague couldn't get Brahim off the inspector and only when a third agent showed up with a hound could Brahim be kept in check. Till the last moment the young men tried to incite the crowd against the agents. Meanwhile, the security services were dealing with a group of youth who were troubling workers at the Rustplein in Sint-Jans-Moleenbeek.

Additional reinforcements were sent there too.

Elsewhere youth set fire to a parked car, in order to challenge the agents. Several minutes later, there was a confrontation between a group of a Pakistanis and a group of North Africans, the former suspecting the latter of stealing a bike. The 'suspect' had nothing to do with the case, but the atmosphere in the neighborhood was tense. Later a police car stopped a Renault Clio in Sint-Jans-Moleenbeek. Two of its three passengers were suspected of trying to cause riots a few days earlier. One of the passengers had drugs in his possession, and the registration documents were not in order. This inspection also caused tensions, but the situation was was quickly calmed down.

It is not the first time that incidents are provoked by the youth. The procedure is always the same: The police is lured somewhere, and when they get there they discover the pavement has been smeared with slippery mud. Then the youth start throwing things at them. The police in Anderlecht is planning more patrols, preventive measures, and talks between the municipal council and the representatives of the immigrant community.

Sources: Brusselsnieuws, Nieuwsblad (Dutch)

***UPDATE*** 29th August:

Hudson New York has an article which mentions the frequent violence and unrest found in Muslim areas of European cities during Ramadan:

It is hot in Brussels. Ramadan has begun. The faithful in the predominantly Muslim borough of Molenbeek are not allowed to eat or drink from sunrise until sunset. Non-Muslim policemen, patrolling the streets of Molenbeek in their sweltering cars, are not allowed to eat or drink either. As every year during Ramadan, that they have been told by their superior, Philippe Moureaux, the Socialist mayor of Molenbeek, they have to respect Muslim sensitivities and not to “provoke” Muslims by violating Islamic Ramadan restrictions in public. In effect, Islamic or Sharia law is already applied - for everyone - in the Muslim areas of Brussels.

Barely two miles from Molenbeek lies Brussels’ European district. One of its huge glass and concrete buildings is the European Parliament where the elected representatives from the 27 members states of the European Union (EU) convene. The 736 MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) have just returned from their summer break. They are mostly unaware of life in Molenbeek. Most of them never go to that part of the city. It is probably a sensible decision, because Molenbeek is known to be unsafe for non-Muslims. Nevertheless, it is a shame that Europe’s politicians are unaware of day-to-day life just around the corner. It means that most of the 736 MEPs, who make up the second largest democratically elected assembly in the world (after India), do not know what life really is like in an ever growing section of Europe’s urban areas. A walking tour of Molenbeek should be compulsory for every MEP.

Some friends in Brussels organize one-hour trips through Molenbeek. They go in an inconspicuous car, driven by a local who knows the escape routes, and with a bodyguard. Otherwise the risk would be too great. These trips are called “safaris.” Similar “Eurabia Safaris” are organized in other European cities. One of the highlights - though absolutely not the most dangerous one - of the safari in Rosengaard, the Muslim section of the Swedish city of Malmö, is a short stop, to give the visitor the opportunity to take a quick snapshot, in front of Malmö’s “Jihadskörkortsteori” (Jihad Driving School).
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