Excerpt:
Citing resistance by Muslims to a compromise on ritual slaughter of animals, a Belgian cabinet minister called for a blanket ban on the custom, a policy that would affect observant Jews and Muslims.
Ben Weyts, animal welfare minister in the government of the Flemish Region — one of three entities that make up the federal kingdom of Belgium – on Tuesday told Radio 1 that it had become necessary to outlaw in the region any slaughter of animals who have not been stunned prior to the act.
"Organizations within the Muslim community are just not open to any sort of compromise," said Weyts, who is a member of the New Flemish Alliance, a center-right movement that the Flemish Region's ruling party.