(Brussels Times) The Brussels Parliament has decided to tighten its visitor regulations following a video of an imam reciting a prayer in the parliamentary hemicycle that circulated online last Friday.
The incident occurred on 12 January and has been condemned by politicians of various parties. The Parliament has since rushed to defend the neutrality of public institutions: “The Parliament is nothing if not a temple of democracy,” said Speaker of the Parliament Rachid Madrane (PS) in reaction to the controversy.
The published video shows Imam Muhammad Ansar Butt reciting verses of the Quran during an awards ceremony organised by the “Friends of Brussels.” The event was an unofficial parliamentary visit at the invitation of MP Hasan Koyuncu (PS).
