(Brussels Times) Flemish Minister of the Interior Hilde Crevits (CD&V) has not approved any recognition requests from Diyanet mosques, a decision welcomed by Flemish MP Nadia Sminate (N-VA), who advocates for a comprehensive review of already recognised mosques.
Minister Crevits reviewed 58 applications from local religious communities, approving 26 of them. The remaining 32 were rejected for not meeting the criteria, including all applications from Turkish Diyanet and Milli Görüs mosques, largely due to a lack of financial transparency and absence of sustainable rights to use the worship buildings.
“It is good that no Diyanet mosques are being recognised. These mosques are directly influenced by the Turkish government and do not fit our vision of independent organised religious services in Flanders,” commented Nadia Sminate.
