Muslim organizations in Belgium condemn Brussels shooting

Two Muslim organizations in Belgium have strongly condemned the shooting attack that killed two Swedes in Brussels.

The Muslim Council of Belgium quickly denounced the shooting, which was carried out Monday, and expressed condolences to the victims’ families.

“The Muslim Council of Belgium and the ministers of the Muslim faith will redouble their efforts to counter this deadly extremism and its devastating impact,” the council said.

They also called for “solidarity, vigilance, as well as restraint and a refusal to stigmatize during these challenging times.”

The Assembly of Muslims of Belgium also decried the attack as a “cowardly, heinous, and despicable act”, stressing that the incident “in no way represents Muslims and is entirely opposite to the values of peace, coexistence, and human fraternity promoted by Islam.”

“We express our complete compassion and solidarity with the victims’ families and call for a united and supportive front,” the assembly said, adding “By remaining firm, vigilant, and true to our values of unity and brotherhood, we will overcome terrorism, hatred, and barbarism, no matter the source.”

On Monday night, a man shot dead two Swedish soccer fans and wounded a third person in central Brussels as a football match between Belgium and Sweden was about to start, before fleeing the scene.

The Euro 2024 qualifier was suspended at halftime and subsequently abandoned following the fatal shooting of two Swedes.

Calling himself Abdesalem Al Guilani, the suspected assailant, identified himself as a member of the Daesh terrorist group, and claimed responsibility in a video posted online.

Belgian police on Tuesday arrested the suspected gunman in the neighborhood of Schaerbeek in Brussels after a massive manhunt.

A spokesman for the Belgian prosecutors’ service, Eric Van Duyse, said, police opened fire during the arrest, but declined to confirm a report by broadcaster RTBF that the suspect was injured.

Earlier, Prime Minister Alexander de Croo said the suspect was a man of Tunisian descent who had been living in the country illegally.

“The terrorist attack that happened yesterday was committed with total cowardice, the attacker chose as a target two Swedish football fans,” de Croo told reporters.

Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborn said the asylum seeker was convicted in Tunisia “for common law offenses”, but was not reported for a terrorist risk.

Belgium authorities have described the shooting as a “terrorist attack”, and raised the terror alert to the highest level.

A Belgian federal prosecutor said the likely motive for the attack was the Swedish nationality of the victims.

In August, Sweden raised its terror alert to the second-highest level after several acts of desecration to the Holy Qur’an conducted in the Nordic country triggered threats from the Takfiri militants.

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