(Brussels Times) Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan will send around forty new imams to Belgium in 2020, a lot more than in previous years.
They are being sent in response to the shortage being faced by many Turkish mosques, Het Laatste Nieuws and De Morgen reported on Tuesday.
“Some are only coming here for a month and serve to make up for the shortage of imams during Ramadan,” Hakan Celiköz, a member of the governing council of the Flemish-Turkish association Union Turque (Turkse Unie), explained. “But others will stay longer. Sixty per cent of our imams have to be replaced because their residence permit is limited to three years and, in many cases, has already expired.”
