Brussels mosque imam has Belgian residency permit withdrawn

The imam of the Great Mosque in Brussels has had his Belgian residency permit withdrawn by secretary of state for migration Theo Francken.

Francken told Bel RTL radio on Tuesday morning: "We have had very clear signals that he is very radicalised, very conservative and dangerous to our society and our national security."

The Brussels mosque has since 1967 been connected to the Saudi Arabia-based Muslim World League. Francken said the decision would "probably" cause tensions between Belgium and Saudi Arabia, "but our fight against radicalism takes priority".

He added that Belgium planned to step up its controls over the financing of mosques. Earlier this year, one of the experts on the parliamentary investigative committee into last year's Brussels terror attacks recommended that the mosque be brought back under the control of the Muslim Executive of Belgium.

A note issued by Belgium's State Security Services in 2015 accused the mosque of preachings that "could lead to a high degree of potentially violent radicalisation". However the note did not establish a link between the mosque and terrorism or foreign combat.

On the subject of immigration, Francken told Bel RTL that about 1,300 people a month were currently seeking asylum in Belgium - mostly from Syria, Afghanistan and Guinea.