No sharia in Flanders

Anyone wanting a society in which men and women live separately from each other should not be in Flanders. The N-VA responds with great incredulity and incomprehension to reports in the press about the Islam Party and a driving school intended exclusively for women. The message in the reactions from Bart De Wever, Geert Bourgeois, Theo Francken, Ben Weyts and Darya Safai is the same: in Flanders, men and women are equal.

Spitting on Europe

Separate public transport for men and women. A 100% Islamic state. Introduction of sharia. To Western ears it sounds too crazy for words, but these are the real cornerstones of the Islam Party. Theo Francken responds with indignation: “It starts with separate public transport. In their sharia world, women have no rights. This is the reason why Darya Safai and thousands of other women had to flee Iran. This isn’t Europe, this is spitting on Europe.”

Misogyny

Women’s activist and N-VA member Darya Safai concurs with him: “I know what sharia does with a person and certainly with women. I have first-hand experience of misogyny. Eighteen years ago, I fled after imprisonment and being presented before a sharia court. I never thought I would ever have to fight this here.”

Against democracy

While the Islam Party may claim it will respect the Belgian constitution, according to Geert Bourgeois that claim is not in keeping with their cornerstones. “According to the European Court of Human Rights, sharia is in breach of the principles of democracy,” says Geert Bourgeois.

Disgraceful religious convictions

As the Flemish Minister of Mobility, Ben Weyts responds to the driving school only for women wanting to start up soon. The woman starting up that driving school denies religious reasons for doing so, but Ben Weyts has his doubts. “Above all what makes me uneasy is the reason behind it. I suspect that someone is trying to profit off some disgraceful religious convictions intended to separate men and women as much as possible.”

Bart De Wever, finally, states in no uncertain terms: “There will be no concessions whatsoever made on the values of the Enlightenment. Anyone wanting anything different from that is better off going somewhere else.”