Hate preachers focus of Belgian security policy

Until now several Belgian intelligence services have been busy tracking down such people. The issue became pressing with the appearance of the now banned Sharia4Belgium outfit. Often though information was stored at different locations and there was insufficient exchange of information.

The Belgian interior, justice, foreign, defence and migration ministers now promise a coordinated approach.

Belgian security policy will now focus on combating hate preachers. Information will be exchanged between municipality’s local and federal police, public prosecutors and the OCAD, the body monitoring the terrorist threat, the military and civilian intelligence services, the aliens department and the interior ministry.

The OCAD will co-ordinate the clamp down on hate preachers using a central databank based on its own information and information gathered by the intelligence service. Asylum secretary Theo Francken told the dailies De Morgen and Het Laatste Nieuws: "At the minute it's only at the last minute that we are aware that a foreign hate preachers is creating problems at say a Muslim Fair. With the databank we will be able to intervene more quickly and refuse travel documents."