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Residents of the community in Brussels fight the labels attached to their area. |
Benoit, a Belgian living in another part of Brussels, said he had come to show harmony with Molenbeek's Muslim community. "I don't like the way the world and my government denounces this place. We must support people instead of sinking them."
Molenbeek made headlines
after it emerged that two of the men supposedly behind the Paris attack
lived there.
"We aren't
terrorists," four Muslim girls with headscarves started to chant nearby.
"Islam is peace! Islam est la paix!" they continued, forming their
fingers into the shape of a heart.
Men, women and children
laid out candles in a pattern spelling the community's name - Molenbeek.
But they could barely move for all the journalists who tried to photograph them. "This is an appeal to the press," a high-pitched voice yelled through a microphone. "Please step away! We are here to bring light but you're in the way. We can't see the message!"
But they could barely move for all the journalists who tried to photograph them. "This is an appeal to the press," a high-pitched voice yelled through a microphone. "Please step away! We are here to bring light but you're in the way. We can't see the message!"
The plea came from
Malika Saissi, a Molenbeek resident for the past 25 years. "We light
candles for the victims of terrorism, in Paris, in Palestine,"
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