arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

Racist Murder in Antwerp: A New Murder on Its Way?

AEL Press Release
28 11 2002

Antwerp- Tuesday night a racist Vlaams Blok sympathizer murdered a 27 years old Moroccan man. The murder was a racist attack, and the murderer had already threatened to kill Morrocans and muslims on many occasion. The Victim Mohamad Achrak is a wel known and respected young man in the neighborhood of Borgerhout. He is an Islam teacher and was an example for the community. His Brother Satif Achrak is a very close friend of AEL president Dyab Abou Jahjah. The victim has been twice to the police-station over the last couple of months to complain about the threats that were expressed by the murderer. The police did not take the issue seriously. Yesterday they realized that the danger was real, but it was too late.
This murder is the latest in a series of racist attacks that have cost several lives of mainly Moroccan Belgians. In May this year a similar incident took place in Brussels were a family was slaughtered by another Vlaams Blok sympathizer.
Over the last couple of months, the political establishment in Belgium and especially in the Flemish parts of the country, lead a hatred campaign against the AEL and especially against the person of its president Dyab Abou Jahjah. Mr Abou Jahjah is considered to be public enemy number one. His only fault is that he is defending the interests of the Arab and Muslim community and that he is fighting against discrimination and racism. The fact that the AEL is also supporting the Palestinian case and playing a leading role in the movement against war and embargo in Iraq is also not being appreciated by the ruling establishment and its international friends. A very unlikely coalition of Far-right extremists, Zionists and traditional parties supported by some of the subsidized organizations of immigrants has been created to fight AEL. With the elections becoming near and when the political establishment realized that the AEL will be presenting a list for the parliamentary elections, the anti AEL campaign escalated. At the same time anti-Muslim and anti-Arab policies were being made like an ethnically oriented zero-tolerance against Moroccan immigrants. When the AEL knew about that plan, we were as concerned citizens obliged to use our democratic rights to the full extent in organizing patrols of citizens in order to observe and document without interfering any abuse by the Police of Antwerp. A police-corps that is strongly infiltrated by sympathizers of Vlaams Blok the far-right extremist party. While this initiative was and still is perfectly legal, it has been portrayed by politicians as organizing a militia.
This pretext has been used to further escalating the demonization of AEL and its president.
it is this Anti-Muslim and anti-Arab atmosphere, that has been created by the political class and the media, that is responsible for racist crimes. Unfortunately the political class is abusing this incident to go through with their campaign against the AEL and Mr. Abou jahjah, and is blaming the AEL for the riots that broke out after the murder. The reality is that the AEL appealed for calm and helped containing the riots and avoiding further escalation.
The threatening language of the government parties is also escalating, Today the security adviser of the prime-minister even insinuated that non-leagal measure might even be taken to solve the "Abou Jahjah problem".
It is not the first time that the life of Mr. Abou Jahjah is threatened, lately the ministry of foreign affairs communicated to us through the federal police that an embassy in Brussels reveled to them a plot by Israel to assassinate him. This has been confirmed by the ministry to the local press. But the atmosphere that is being created now is creating the perfect context for such an attack.
However, a racist attack caused by this very same atmosphere has already occurred. The lost of Mohamad Achrak can never be compensated; nothing can ease our pain or that of the victim's family.
The Arab European League calls upon all its members and sympathizers in Europe and the world to be aware of this situation and of the possible consequences. It is imperative that our people everywhere and all justice loving human being show their solidarity with our struggle for equal rights and dignity.
The AEL will present a legal suit against the Mayor of Antwerp for defamation and will keep calling for calm and reason. We will not fall in the trap they want us in, but at the same time if the situation goes out of hand and further blood is shed, we hold the whole Belgian establishment and the Zionist lobby accountable for any consequences.
AEL is for dialogue when it occurs in mutual respect; it is in the interest of everybody that this situation is defused.
The Time is that of grief and pain for our lost brother. Let us honor him by avoiding any further blood-shed.

It's clear that this is the position of the AEL and therefore by the principle of independent sources cannot be taken as a serious and objective description of the facts. Also, the AEL is still presenting itself as the saviour of the arab and muslim-community, although lots of morrocans and other muslim do not accept their action and don't feel represented by them.

We are still waiting the AEL to offically declare that they defend the arab-homosexual, vicitms of homophobia by their own community.

I hope people will notice that the AEL is calling for human rights respect only in the cases that interest its own cause. In other word, as any extremist movement, they are taking advantage of the democracy where they grow, using their laws (in this case stressing on the law of the respect of minority).

I think it should be added to the previous comment that the "amalgame" between a supposed zionist lobby and the critics made against the AEL is part of their strategy to gather as many people as possible. It is quite (not) surprising that the AEL is using EXACTLY the same strategy as the Vlaamse Blok, that is: using any event or any information (true or not) that can cause the fear of the muslim community to gather them under their clanic cause. And after that presenting them as the only possible saviour of the Arab-muslim. The KuKluxKlan in the USA pretends to save the poor white man against the non-white aggression... does this sounds familiar to you?

BE CAREFUL AEL, THE CITIZEN ARE WATCHING YOU!

I see that zionist manipulators are in the house

"We are still waiting the AEL to offically declare that they defend the arab-homosexual, vicitms of homophobia by their own community."

Who's "we" , Marty?

And Marty, don't you think that's better that moslimgays ask this to the AEL?

marty, here's an adress where you can find a lot of marocan gay organisations:

http://www.merhaba.be/nl/links.aspx

On which you can find:

"Queer Jihad
http://www.well.com/user/queerjhd/

Engelstalige internationale site voor en door holebi-moslims.

Queer Jihad is a queer Muslim site,struggling for acceptance: first,to accept being exactly the way Allah has created humans; and secondly, the struggle for acceptance and tolerance among Muslims in general."

Why not contact al this organisations first and then critisize AEL?

Also interesting, an adres where you can find lots of migrantsgroups:

http://burgerzaken.antwerpen.be/integratie/adressenlijst/2060.htm

Marty,

"Verschillende verenigingen voor allochtonen, zoals de Unie van Moskeeën en Islamitische Verenigingen (Umiva), de Turkse Unie en de Marokkaanse Federatie, hebben zich vandaag verenigd in een Forum voor Islamitische Organisaties in Vlaanderen."

"Dit is geen moment om politieke agenda's te verwezenlijken'', vindt Mdaouchi. Hiermee nemen de organisaties zowel afstand van de AEL als van het Vlaams Blok. ,,Maar het gaat breder dan de AEL'', benadrukt hij."
http://www.standaard.be/nieuws/binnenland/index.asp?Snel=1&articleID=DMF28112002_004&Doctype=snelnieuws