Imam speaks out as inflammatory texts sent to youths days after suicide attacks kill 35

By Chinedu Onyejelem

Young Muslims must be led away from the dangerous path of Islamic extremism, a religious leader has warned.

Jamal Zaria, the imam at Arafat mosque in the Molenbeek district of Brussels, made the call following revelations that text messages from an unknown person were sent on Easter Sunday – to local youths urging them to rise against their society, as the Guardian newspaper reports.

This was just days after the terrorist attacks on Tuesday 22 March that killed at least 35 people and wounded hundreds in the Belgian capital.

The anonymous texts followed the removal of a Facebook video which allegedly showed some youths in the area celebrating the suicide bombings on the Brussels metro system and in the departure hall of the city’s main airport in the Zaventem district, which remained closed at press time. 

Adelma Tapia Ruiz, a 37-year-old woman from Peru, was the first casualty confirmed at the airport. 

Ruiz was travelling with her Belgian husband Christophe Delcambe and their twin daughters Maureen and Alondra, who all survived.