A complaint has been lodged against local councillor Bernard Guillaume for Islamophobic remarks made in Schaerbeek during a meeting of the advisory council on animal welfare. The local councillor from the Mouvement Réformateur described Islam as an ” extremist religion ” and also stated: ” The Muslims want to make their law here, but this is a secular country. If they’re not happy, they can go home. “He added: ” With the ritual slaughter issue, Belgium has taken a 20-year step backwards. ” Bernard Guillaume has denied the facts, but a complaint has been lodged by the local animal welfare officer.
Mayor Cécile Jodogne (DéFi) stated yesterday, June 18, that these remarks were intolerable and promised to take the necessary measures. As a result, disciplinary measures could be envisaged against Bernard Guillaume.
These comments came just days after Michel Claise, Défi candidate in the federal elections, claimed to be ” Islamophobic ” during a radio broadcast on May 30. In response to the journalist’s question: ” At Défi, we believe in protecting ourselves from signs of conviction? Are you afraid of getting hit with a veil or crucifix? “He replied, “I don’t want to get a bomb either“. This response creates an explicit link between Muslim conviction and terrorism, and reveals a poisonous climate within the Belgian political sphere.
