MUSLIM FAIR IN BRUSSELS ATTRACTS THOUSANDS
Brussel, 23 Dhul Hijja 1434/28 October 2013 (MINA) – A fair organized for the second years by Muslims in Belgian capital Brussels has attracted thousands of visitors at its stands mainly theming clothes, accessories, halal food and natural cosmetics as well as Rabia movement (a civil movement protesting against the military coup in Egypt) and resistance against Syria’s brutal regime.
Witnessing a remarkable success in their fair’s first edition, Belgian Muslims are preparing for opening the second Brussels’ Muslims Fair, with a program of forums and symposiums tackling Muslims issues and challenges in the European country.
The Muslim Fair aiming the struggle against Islamaphobia and intercultural dialogue is being held at Brussels’s historic Tour & Taxi Cultural Centre, from Friday 25 to Monday, October 28th, Anadolu Agency quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) as reporting.
Organizers think the fair will reach a total visitors number of 25 thousand by the end of tomorrow, the final day of the fair.
Divided between shops and forums, the event is modeled on Le Bourget; an annual Muslim conference in France which has been taking place in Paris for 30 years.
It is deemed as a golden opportunity for Belgian Muslims to counter anti-Islam prejudices.
The first edition of the Muslim Fair had received more than 20,000 visitors.
This year’s event is organized by Gedis Company which has been hired by Union of Islamic Organizations of France (UOIF) to organize Le Bourget for years, On Islam report.
Le Bourget has become a fixture in the French calendar, a chance for Muslims to meet, hear speeches from intellectuals and scholars, and buy the latest in Islamic literature and clothes.
Thousands of Muslims come in droves to the annual gala, going through a miscellany of books and items on display, attending lectures and vying in contests for the memorization of the Qur’an.
Every year, tens of thousands of Muslims from across Europe attend the conference’s activities, with young women in their unmistakable hijabs and enthusiastic young men making up the bulk of attendees.
Belgian Muslims are estimated at 450,000 – out of a 10-million-population – about half of them are from Moroccan origin, while 120,000 are from Turkish origin.
More than 20 percent of the population of Brussels is of Muslim origin coming from Morocco, Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other African countries.
There are 77 mosques or prayer rooms in Brussels and over 300 across Belgium. (T/P09/E1).
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).
