19 May 2016

Authorities shut down secret Islamic school in Brussels

Authorities have closed a “clandestine Islamic school” in the Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek, French news website Sudpresse reported on Thursday.

Molenbeek Mayor Françoise Schepmans gave the order to close the school, which taught 38 children aged between 3 and 8, on Tuesday, after a tip-off from a neighbor, according to Sudpresse.

The school was housed in a family home and its teachers, reportedly dressed in niqabs, were not qualified.

Schepmans reportedly closed the facility due to “architectural” reasons, not over radicalization fears, media report.

Molenbeek has been dubbed a radicalization hub after it emerged that alleged terrorists linked to the Paris and Brussels attacks lived in the area. [POLITICO] Read more