Molenbeek mayor opens new front on extremism

This week’s knife attack on police in the Molenbeek district of Brussels once again drew attention to a place that has been labelled a jihadist hotspot.

A 20-year old man, reportedly Algerian, stabbed two police officers on Wednesday (7 September) before fleeing the scene. He was later caught.

Locals say it had nothing to do with Islamic radicalism.

But for her part, Molenbeek’s mayor, Francoise Schepmans, says that radicalisation thrives on other forms of criminality and t...