(Brussels Times) The University of Leuven (KULeuven) will begin a new course for the training of imams in February. The course lasts six years.
The training of imams was a point raised in the report of the parliamentary committee which looked into the terrorist attacks in Brussels and Zaventem in March 2016. It was recommended to offer a university course, in order to counter the influence of imams brought in from abroad, particularly the Middle East, who have been responsible for spreading hate messages and increasing the radicalisation of young Belgian Muslims.
According to Flemish minister Bart Somers, who is responsible for the official recognition of mosques, the import of imams from abroad is “undesirable and untenable.” Somers was reacting to a report, denied by the Turkish embassy, that Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan had plans to send 40 imams to Belgium.
