Belgian Muslim Council Extended One Year as Official Body for Islam

Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden has extended the temporary accreditation of the Belgian Muslim Council (Conseil Musulman de Belgique / CMB) for one additional year, keeping it as the officially recognized representative body for the Islamic faith in Belgium until at least June 25, 2027. The decision, announced on Friday, June 19, 2026, marks the second extension for the CMB since it was first provisionally designated in 2023.

Background: A Long Road to Reform

The CMB was created in May 2023 by then-Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne following the dissolution of the Muslim Executive of Belgium (EMB), which had its recognition withdrawn in September 2022. According to RTBF, the EMB had lost its accreditation after an alarming report from Belgium’s State Security Service flagged foreign interference, amateurish management, and a lack of transparency. Van Quickenborne described the EMB as a “conservative club of five people” that showed no willingness to reform.

The goal was to launch a process of renewal for the representative body of the Islamic faith, amid internal tensions within the Muslim community and federal concerns about foreign interference. The CMB was officially registered as a non-profit association (ASBL) on June 6, 2023, and recognized by royal decree on June 12, 2023.

Progress Acknowledged, Concerns Remain

Minister Verlinden acknowledged the CMB’s institutional progress over the past year. “The Belgian Muslim Council has followed a demanding path of institutional modernization,” she stated. “It has crossed important steps toward establishing a transparent governance model.” She also noted that the new leadership team “seems to assume the missions of this body in a stable and professional manner.”

However, as La Libre reports, representativity remains a significant challenge. “Representativity remains a subject of concern,” Verlinden said. “Not all mosques are fully involved.” The CMB currently represents approximately 75 to 86 of Belgium’s estimated 350 mosques, with the Turkish-origin mosques linked to Diyanet (Turkey’s religious affairs directorate) and many others remaining outside the body. The minister called on “unrepresented actors” to “be open to dialogue.”

Internal Strife and Legal Challenges

The CMB has faced considerable internal conflict since its creation. The association has been plagued by internal divisions and is boycotted by the Federation of Moroccan Mosques of Brussels. According to Wikipedia, the body represents primarily Moroccan-origin mosques, leaving out significant segments of Belgium’s diverse Muslim population, which numbers approximately one million people from Moroccan, Turkish, Albanian, Bosnian, Pakistani, and other backgrounds.

In February 2026, constitutional lawyer Marc Uyttendaele sent a letter to Minister Verlinden warning that the CMB was exceeding its mandate. As reported by DH, Uyttendaele argued that “while its attributions are limited to the purely administrative aspect of temporal management, the CMB association de facto sets itself up as the leader of the Muslim community, appropriating notably the responsibility for imam training.” He further warned that “it cannot be a question of this CMB ASBL using public funds for activities that do not fall within its missions.”

Additionally, in April 2024, Belgian daily DH highlighted ties between several CMB leaders and Moroccan extremist circles, adding another layer of controversy to the body’s legitimacy.

Broader European Context

Belgium’s struggle to establish a unified, representative body for its Muslim population reflects wider European challenges. Since Islam was officially recognized as a religion in Belgium by the law of July 19, 1974, successive governments have grappled with creating institutional representation that is both accepted by the diverse Muslim community and trusted by the state. The tension between state oversight and religious autonomy remains a recurring theme.

What’s Next

The one-year extension provides continuity for Muslim representation in Belgium, ensuring ongoing functions such as mosque recognition, imam training, and Islamic education. However, the repeated extensions suggest that the government’s strategy of fostering a new representative body from scratch is taking longer than anticipated.

The CMB must now demonstrate significant progress on representativity and governance to secure definitive recognition by June 2027. Key questions remain: Can the CMB broaden its representativity to include Turkish-origin mosques and other underrepresented groups? Will the internal conflicts within the CMB and between the CMB and former EMB factions be resolved? And how will the constitutional concerns raised by Marc Uyttendaele about the CMB exceeding its mandate be addressed?

For now, the Belgian Muslim Council continues its provisional role, with the government closely watching its progress toward becoming a truly inclusive and representative institution for Belgium’s Muslim community.