Montasser AlDe'emeh closes anti-radicalisation centre

Montasser AlDe'emeh on Sunday closed De Weg Naar, the anti-radicalisation centre in Molenbeek where he has counseled radicalised Muslim youth and their families since early 2015, he confirmed to Knack. "It is now up to the government. I cannot continue to do this alone," he says.

The researcher and specialist in Islamic radicalisation founded Belgium's first anti-radicalisation centre in Mechelen in 2015. He opened his centre in the Brussels commune of Molenbeek following the November terrorist attacks in Paris.

AlDe'emeh financed both operations himself, without government subsidies, so as not to “undermine my credibility among a certain group of radical Muslims,” he says. But disillusioned by the lack of any response from the Belgian government, he decided to close the doors on his centre on 1 May, as he feels that he is not being heard by policymakers.

Due to his work in the centre, AlDe'emeh also faces regular death threats from various radical Islamic circles, including the Islamic State.