Molenbeek Offers French Classes to Local Imams to Improve Community Integration

The municipal authorities want these courses to start in 2020 and about fifteen imams are concerned. Catherine Moureaux, Mayor of Molenbeek, said that it is the imams who have expressed the wish to have a very good level of French.

"These are people who have been in Belgium for many years, who have been practicing the faith for many years and who do not have the facilities to find training that matches their demand," she said.

However, as the law does not allow a public authority to set up this type of training for a religious community, the non-profit organization presented itself as an opportunity, according to Amet Gjanaj, the Alderman of Litigation.

According to him, the training will last two years and is likely to interest other imams and the city will not be able to offer it to them, the budget being very limited.

Even though not a single penny of public money has been invested, the initiative nevertheless raises questions, according to the site. For those who see this project in a bad light, the State has nevertheless served as a mailbox, a mouthpiece.

Ahmed El Khannouss, from the opposition CDH, criticized the idea on Facebook, talking about political interference in the religious.

For him, the 180,000 euros deserve other emergencies like education in Molenbeek. The same tone with Michaël Vossaert, Municipal Councilor of the opposition. In a tweet, he explained that the financial resources being discussed should be invested in schools and in an employment-training action plan.

The Mayor advances the willingness of these local religious figures to integrate further through the learning of French. Molenbeek, according to RTBF, has 22 Islamic places of worship and the fifteen or so imams are mostly of Moroccan origin and have been residing in Molenbeek for years.