(Brussels Times) The Constitutional Court on [Wednesday?] annulled several provisions of a Flemish decree banning local religious communities from receiving funding or support from abroad, a measure aimed primarily at mosques.
The decree of 22 October 2021 regulating the recognition of local religious communities ended a stalemate that had lasted for years, after then-Home Affairs Minister Liesbeth Homans (N-VA) halted the recognition of mosques in 2017.
The new text imposes a number of strict conditions for the recognition of a religious community. These include a ban on foreign interference and funding, and a mandatory register for all donations over €1,000. In addition, it takes four years for any new application for recognition to be examined by a new inspectorate.
