APPREHENDED
- Full name: Fouad Belkacem
- Pseudonym: Abu Imran
- Alternatives: N/a
- Location: Belgian/Moroccan, active in Belgium
- Affiliation: Shari’a for Belgium Movement [Sh4B]
Fouad Belkacem (°1982) is a notorious Belgian-Moroccan jihadi from the town of Boom. As a young man, he was involved in criminal activities, including robberies, and was convicted on several occasions.1 He also dealt in used cars.2 Belkacem turned to radical Salafism after narrowly surviving a car crash and making several visits to Saudi Arabia in 2003.3
In the early 2000s, Belkacem joined the Arab European League [AEL; Arabisch-Europese Liga].4 At the time, the AEL was agitating against the police in Antwerp and organized protests against Israel that occasionally descended into rioting. In 2004, Belkacem was a candidate in the regional elections for the AEL’s small Muslim Democratic Party [MDP; Moslim Democratische Partij].5 At the same time, he was also seen as the informal leader of a small community of extremist Salafi youths in Boom. Belkacem and his associates dissuaded Muslims from into Belgian society, defended terrorism and agitated against a local gay youth association.6
In the meanwhile, Belkacem continued his criminal activities unabated. In 2007, a Moroccan court sentenced him to six years in prison for drugs trafficking.7 The Belgian authorities rejected demands for extradition by the Moroccans since they feared Belkacem could be subjected to mistreatment in the country. In 2007 and 2008, he was also involved in a series of altercations with police officers who stopped him for traffic infractions. During the confrontations, Belkacem launched racist tirades. In January 2008, he even declared war on the local police department.8 A court sentenced him to eight months in prison in October 2009.9
On Mar. 03, 2010, Belkacem formally set up the Shari’a for Belgium Movement [Sh4B] and within weeks he attracted a significant following in Antwerp.10 He instructed his followers into radical Salafi Islam.11 At the same time, Belkacem also started organizing public preaching sessions and staged protests. He railed against the government, democracy and Western civilization. Belkacem also denounced sexual minorities and made negative comments on the Jewish community. His sermons and speeches were widely distributed on social media by his followers.12 Belkacem’s activities and regular appearances in the press soon turned him into a well-known public figure. As the leader of Belgium’s largest Islamist movement, Belkacem cultivated ties to radical Muslims in other European countries. British cleric Anjem Choudhary acted as a mentor for him.13
Over time, the posture of Belkacem and his followers became increasingly confrontational and aggressive. In March 2011, he released a video statement in which he supported jihad in Libya and wished for the death of defense minister Pieter De Crem in response to Belgium’s involvement in operations against the Kadhafi regime in the North African country.14 In December 2011, Belkacem called for the destruction of the Atomium.15 He was also thought to have advocated participation in jihadi activities in Chechnya and Yemen.16
In June 2011, Belgian authorities charged Belkacem with inciting hatred.17 He was provisionally sentenced to two years in prison by a court in February 2012.18 Belkacem was not arrested however and continued to manage Sh4B.19 The government started seeing his activities as a security threat to the country. In early 2012, the Belgian judiciary began investigating Belkacem and Sh4B for links to terrorism.20
In May and June 2012, Belkacem and Sh4B instigated unrest after police arrested a Muslim woman who had assaulted officers who demanded she remove part of her burqa during a check on a street in the Molenbeek suburb of Brussels. Sh4B activists and local Muslim youths created unrest for several days as a result.21 On Jun. 05, a French Salafi extremist stabbed and injured two policemen in the suburb.22 Belkacem was seen as having fomented the violence and he was arrested on Jun. 07, 2012.23 The authorities placed him under electronic surveillance and released him in February 2013.24
In April 2013, Belkacem was again arrested when Belgian security forces cracked down on Sh4B-linked jihadi networks in a series of raids across Belgium.25 Investigations revealed that he played an important role in recruiting Belgian jihadis to fight in Iraq and Syria. In February 2015, a Belgian court sentenced him to twelve years in prison.26 His conviction was confirmed on appeal in January 2016.27
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