Muslim Hate in Belgium
Belgian Muslim head to be tried for inciting riot
A judge on Thursday ordered a prominent Muslim leader and founder of a Belgian-Dutch Islamic political organization to stand trial along with two other group members on charges of inciting a riot in 2002 in Antwerp.
Dyab Abou Jahjah, a Lebanese-born Belgian, and the two other men are accused of helping fuel several nights of violence by North African immigrants in Antwerp, angered by the fatal shooting of a teacher of Moroccan origin in November 2002. The rioters rampaged through a largely immigrant neighborhood, hurling rocks and scuffling with police, though no one was seriously injured.
At a pretrial hearing, the judge said there was enough evidence against the men to go ahead with the trial.
The judge, however, ruled against an attempt by prosecutors to label Abou Jahjah's Arab European League a militia, a designation that would effectively ban the organization.