Antwerp: Europe and the Arabs
Sheikh Noureddine Tawil, Secretary General of the Council of Muslim Scholars in Belgium, announced the establishment of the new council in the presence of a number of scholars of various nationalities who participated in the founding of the council, including those from Senegal, Morocco, Iraq, Pakistan, and others, as well as Belgian Muslims. The announcement of the establishment was made in several languages, including Arabic, French, Dutch, and Pakistani. During his speech to the attendees, Noureddine Tawil, of Moroccan origin, thanked those who participated with him in the founding of the council for their courage. He explained that courage is indeed required in undertaking this step, which aims to work for the future of children and future generations, and this is the role of the current generation of scholars. In a statement to the website "Europe and the Arabs," Sheikh Noureddine said, "We have announced the establishment of the Council of Muslim Scholars in Belgium, and we are making efforts to make it more expansive and represent the components of the Islamic community." He referred to the statement he delivered announcing the establishment, which stated that the first step will be the establishment of an institute to train imams for the rising generations who understand reality. He added that there will be communication with official and governmental bodies, as well as with the Belgian Islamic Council. which represents the Muslim community in Belgium, and we will work to ensure that the new Council of Scholars plays a role in the Belgian Islamic Council. Sheikh Al-Tawil added that the Council of Muslim Scholars will have a fatwa department, and this will be led by Dr. Suleiman Van der All, who is Belgian by origin and upbringing and has the necessary experience and combines Islamic studies with real-life jurisprudence. We will also organize various other activities, but what we are doing now is taking it step by step to build a strong foundation in the service of Islam, Muslims, and all people. He also hinted that there will be communication with international Islamic organizations for joint cooperation, including the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, the Muslim World League, and others. "We want to protect our children from extremism and provide them with answers to many questions that no one else can answer. We will soon publish studies and research in this regard." Regarding funding for the work to be undertaken by the new council, Sheikh Noureddine said, "Our work is currently voluntary, and we will gradually seek funding through the relevant authorities and others. We want to ensure complete transparency with everyone, whether official government agencies or security agencies, as well as with all Muslim communities. We are seeking to establish a headquarters." And global activities, God willing, after communicating with official government agencies and the body representing Muslims to obtain recognition. After that, we will begin our work because we have scholars who are fluent in this country's languages, were born there, and want to contribute something to this country." The Council of Muslim Scholars in Belgium stated in a statement, "This council, which we hope will be a beacon of knowledge and guidance, will work to serve the Muslim community in Belgium and meet its spiritual and intellectual needs. One of the council's priorities is to present an ambitious project to establish the first institute for the training and qualification of imams, to fill the significant shortage of qualified imams who understand the reality of Belgian society and address its challenges with enlightened thinking. This project will be submitted to the Belgian Islamic Council and the Belgian government, and a committee of Belgian Muslim academics will be formed to follow up on this important issue.
The council will also include a Fatwa Department, which will study the challenges facing Muslims in Belgium and provide legal answers that facilitate and facilitate understanding of the rulings of Islam, while taking into account the circumstances and specificities of Belgian society. The statement concluded by saying, "We are confident that this council will be an important step toward strengthening Islamic identity in Belgium and building bridges of understanding and cooperation with all components of Belgian society. We ask God Almighty to grant us all success in serving our religion and our community, and to make this work sincerely for His sake."