Excerpt:
At the end of November, the controversial imam of the Grand Mosque of Brussels, Abdelhadi Sewif, won the first round of a legal battle over his right to remain in Belgium. The judgement was prompted by the decision of Secretary of State for Migration Theo Francken to withdraw the residence permit of the imam, whom he has described as "a follower of Salafism, radicalised, very conservative and dangerous to our society and our national security".
Irrespective of the individual legal proceeding, which is now due to be examined by the Belgian supreme administrative court, this case is emblematic of how non-violent extremism is being considered as a matter of security and an integral part of radicalisation processes. This dimension emerged clearly from one of the reports adopted by the Belgian Parliament Committee of enquiry into the March 22, 2016 Brussels terrorist attacks.