Brussels- Arab communities constitute about 12% of voters in major cities in Belgium, but their presence in their legislative bodies did not exceed 5% in the past, which made each electoral victory a victory with a symbolic and strategic sign.
Recently, the representation of migrants reached about 7% of the members of the Federal Parliament, and the Arabs achieved an increasing presence in parties BelgiumAlthough the road was not furnished with flowers, many of them faced skepticism and accusations of duplication.
The following report documents the features of the transformation in the march of this community through exclusive testimonies of politicians of Arab origin, in which they reveal the beginnings, difficulties and dreams of change.
Sami and the story of a refugee
“I am the son of a refugee, but I do not bargain with the truth,” says Sami Mahdi. Saddam HusseinAnd I raised in a house that believes in rigor and respect, and I was not allowed to speak bArabicNot about ignorance, but rather the conviction that we must fully merge into this society. I obeyed him, and I hope to learn Arabic, but I did not, and today I understand why he was thinking this way. “
Sami, 37, begins his speech, sitting in his office at the headquarters of the “Christian -Flemish Democratic” party, which has been heading since 2022, as the youngest of the leadership in the history of the party that symbolizes him as “CD &” (CD & V) and is considered one of the most ancient parties in the country.
Quickly Sami went up to the pyramid of Belgian politics; From an activist in the ranks of partisan youth, to a minister of migration, then the party’s head. “When I arrived with the government as Minister of Immigration, it was said that I will not continue, but I worked hard, and I was clear: the integration is a responsibility, not a grant, and whoever lives here to contribute, not to be satisfied with the demand.”
This strict speech was charged with accusations, as some consider it “disguised to its origins” or “flirting with the oath at the expense of the immigrants”, and responds with a firm smile, “I do not escape from my roots, I am proud that I am a refugee son, but I am also a Belgian politician, I cannot close my eyes from the problems.”
He continued that when he wrote an article after violence in Belgium after a match, he said the truth, according to it, “We are former refugees, but our children are their behavior free of respect, as if they forgot what their parents did to settle here.”
He adds that he holds responsibility not only towards his party, but towards the youth like him, as when he was a teenager he had no role model, and he did not see anyone similar to him in decision -making centers, and today, “I hope that I am the role model, and a sign that success is not exclusive to the elite sons.”
In politics, Mahdi mastered the account of the balances, and says, “Yes, I can drop the government if my party withdraws from the alliance, but it is not a game, we bear the responsibility of the ruling, and we do not play stability.”
Sami recently married Nawal Farih, who lives in the city of Khintak and is a parliamentarian of the same party of Moroccan origin. He says that she is his partner in life and vision together, and they believe that Belgium is able to be “fair and firm, without empty slogans.”
And about his position on the war on Gaza“From the beginning, I called for an immediate ceasefire, I do not accept the killing of civilians, whatever the party, I said it explicitly and repeated it inside Parliament, because the principle is indivisible; human rights include the Palestinians as well.”
At a corner of the modest headquarters of Sami Party, a poem hanging on an internal column of the author Great Op de Pick, dated on November 1, 2016, says at the end, “Let’s not be angels, but if we can, let us be human beings, let us dare.” It is a text that may reflect the essence and summary of the path that Sami chose for himself.
Ibn Al -Kasali neighborhood
On the upper floor of the Brussels Parliament building, Fouad Ahdar opens the door of his office himself; There are no barriers or protocols. Inside, a simple meeting table surrounded by a group of young men, his assistants: a young Rwandan, a Jewish young man from Haiti named Claudio, and others from the popular Brussels neighborhoods.
“Please, sit with us, we are here to think together, do not wait for orders from above,” says Ahdar, laughing.
Ahdar took us on a tour between the prestigious Brussels parliament halls, and we talked about his experience for more than 30 years, where he left the “San Gail” neighborhood or “Al -Kasali neighborhood” as it is called, which is one of the most marginalized neighborhoods of the capital, carrying within it the anger of adolescents from police practices, and the injustice of the Maghreb neighborhoods that are treated as if they were a security burden.
He says, “I was 15 years old, and I said: This is unlikely, we were searching for no reason, and it was seen as criminals only because we are Arabs, the politics was not ambition, but rather a reaction to injustice.”
Ehuddar entered the parliament for the first time as an assistant in the office of the Minister of Culture and Youth, then he soon became an elected deputy, and today he has 3 out of 9 seats speaking in the Dutch in the Brussels Parliament, that is, enough to disrupt the formation or pass of the government.
I was removed from his left party, and in 2024 he established a new party called “For You” and means “for you.” He says, “I am tired of promises, I wanted a party that people really hear, not a party that addresses them only five years,” he says.
Accusations and steadfastness
Since the establishment of his party, I have been continuously attacked by the media and some of his opponents who describe him as “disguised Islamic” or “hidden Brotherhood”, but he responds sarcastically, “I am a Muslim, my socialist, and Belgian, and I do not understand at all what the Brotherhood means, a charge that has become a fashion in Europe to silence those who defend Muslims.”
Ahdar believes in pluralism and practicing it, and its parliamentary team brings together various nationalities and cultural backgrounds, and he says that his party includes more than 60 volunteers, who do not receive wages but rather work for the neighborhoods in which they were created.
“We only want a fair policy, a decent housing, free education, and freedom of belief,” he added, criticizing the powers of the authorities to prevent the permissible slaughter of children to circumcision, through the restriction of the veil with some professions.
On Gaza, Ahdar says, “It is not a religious issue, but humanity, when children are killed and the European conscience does not move.
Despite his apparent hardness, he dissolves when he talks about his mother, and he added, “It is the link in my life, when I get tired, call her, and it is sufficient for her prayers to feel that I am able to continue.”
Also women
There is a remarkable presence of immigrant women in the municipalities of Belgium, such as Fattiha Amdoun, a businesswoman and a mother of three children, who combined municipal activity and charitable work, to become an audible voice in the city of Harlabiki, as the head of the “Tamazer” association and a member of the municipality for the Christian Democratic Party.
Fatiha is working to support fragile groups and enhance the values of solidarity and integration, and she says, “We have the confidence of people because I have faced challenges, but that makes me count as a power that must be cautious.”
On the other hand, in the coastal city of Planginberg, where the Arab and Muslim community is almost unnoticed, Fatima Umimon made a political presence from nothing, as she started from teamwork and cultural activities, and receiving refugees, before her colleague invited her to join the Voorit party, where she saw a passion for people and achieved real social justice.
Thanks to its legal background and its experience in education, it has created its political path calmly and confidently, and since its election in 2018, it is working on the files of education, pluralism, and fighting poverty, to become the first Muslim and Arab woman to be elected to lead the party in the city.
Despite these experiments, the political participation of citizens of Arab origin and migratory in Belgium, which has made an important way in recent decades, is still far from achieving a representation that reflects their demographic weight, especially in the Federal Flame Flemish levels.
Despite the emergence of influential personalities such as Sami Mahdi and Fouad Ahdar, many of the deputies of Arab descent, such as Rajaa Muawawal, Nabil Boukili, and Rashida Ait Alba and others, are directed to their efforts to serve their local communities, education, and equality, instead of forming effective pressure lobby as other communities in European countries such as France AndGermany.
This trend reflects a solidarity and human spirit, but it also highlights the need for stronger collective political awareness, and a long -term strategy to raise the Arab voice in the public debate.