Belgian LGBTQ+ Muslim Iftar Event Canceled Over Security Concerns

"Queer Iftar" will no longer be held on March 31 at the De Roma cultural center in Borgerhout, Antwerp. This is the decision made by De Roma and Merhaba, a social organization based in Brussels, which is behind this initiative. A decision justified by security reasons, the announcement of the event having provoked virulent comments on social networks.

"With this event, we wanted to create a safe space for LGBTQIA+ Muslims to celebrate iftar and offer them a place where they could bring together their two identities. Many signals indicate that we cannot guarantee a ’safe space’. Even if we consider that the issue and the needs of the participants involved are extremely important, their safety and ours are priorities," the organization explains to La Dernière Heure, while assuring that it will always address the issue, "perhaps in another way, perhaps at another time."