Death threats over Islamic headscarf shake Belgium

2/1/2005 7:30:00 AM GMT

Source: BBC

Because he employed a Muslim woman who wears the Islamic headscarf, Rik Remmery, a factory owner, started receiving death threats.

Somebody in Ledegen in West Flanders did not like that and was planning to take extreme action if Rick didn’t fire the woman, Naima Amzil.

But Rik refused to bend to the extremist threats.

"She's worked here for eight years. I accepted her with a headscarf and I will not change my mind because of one sick person," he said.

"You are a bad Belgian and you have signed your own death warrant," was one message to Mr. Remmery when he opened his mail one morning just before Christmas. But this was just the beginning of an angry tirade of threatening posts.

In other letters, the sender put a 250,000 euro ($326,000) price on his head and a final package contained a bullet.

By now the letters were coming to his family home as well as his factory.

In December, Mr. Remmery received another letter that says "December will be a nightmare."

Naima, originally from Morocco, was horrified when she learned about the threats her employer receives. It was difficult for her to believe that someone would be that irritated by her simple white headscarf to the extent that he reacts in such a sick manner.

Naima says she tried all she can to integrate into Belgian society – she learned French and Flemish and now carries a Belgian passport.

But Naima's work colleagues supported her and stood beside her, also the trade union organised a petition of support on the internet, which racked up more than 25,000 names.

But the letters didn’t stop, and the pressure and fear grew. In the end, when even the police investigations reached a dead end, Naima decided to remove her headscarf while she’s working in the factory. And since health and safety regulations requires her wearing a hairnet at work anyway, Naima was still able to stay true to her religious obligations.

Royal action

But that wasn’t an easy decision to take. Naima cried for hours that day.

"It was very, very difficult. It was like a piece of me was taken away. The whole day I felt bad," she said.

Belgium's King Albert was on holiday in France and when he saw on television what happened in Ledegen. He quickly contacted Rik and invited him and Naima - in headscarf - to the royal palace for a televised audience.

The king apparently wanted to send out a message that religious intolerance was unacceptable in Belgium.

In other parts of Belgium, political pressure is forcing local police to impose regulations, that are unacceptable to the Muslim community.

The threatening letters have stopped for the time, but the unpleasant feeling of a home-grown extremism remains.

"In a small town like this, everybody knows everybody. I think it must be a skinhead, a neo-Nazi, a neo-fascist, someone like that. I really don't know," said Rik.

At the factory, Naima, still putting on a brave face, says: "When I arrived here in my headscarf Rik said it was no problem. I never thought there would come a time when I would take it off. Now I just hope there'll be a day when I can come back to work with my headscarf on again."