Controversy Erupts Over Veiled Muslim Woman’s Appointment as Molenbeek Alderman

Saliha Raiss, of Moroccan origin, wears the veil, which "is not compatible with the wearing of an ostentatious conviction sign," tweeted Georges-Louis Bouchez, president of the MR, adding that "the only obedience of a member of the Executive must be to the constitution and the laws." The leader of the liberal party in Molenbeek, Françoise Schepmans, specifies in La Dernière Heure and La Libre that "there will certainly be majority meetings before her appointment to discuss it."

Jef Van Damme (Vooruit) is surprised by the reaction of the liberal who was in the last municipal council with him. "If my departure was of course addressed, neither Ms. Schepmans nor any member of the MR mentioned Ms. Raiss’s point [...] what is important is not what is on the head, but what is inside," he said.

"For the MR, a politician can lie to Parliament as long as she does not wear the veil. [...] I hope the debate can focus on her social policy rather than her way of dressing. Brussels has other problems than this symbol, these discussions do not move anything forward," Conner Rousseau, president of Vooruit, estimated for his part.