Focus
Molenbeek
Belgium Has Divided and Decentralized Itself Almost Out of Existence
The incidents also add color to the image of Belgium—my native country—as a failed nation-state, one that seems egregiously incapable of protecting its own people.
In Belgian District, Many Feel a Dead End Fuels Militancy
Brahim Abdeslam seemed no different from his peers in Molenbeek, one of Belgium’s poorest districts, where drug use is rife and many of the young men are unemployed. One November evening, he passed the time smoking pot in a parked car with two of his friends.
Brussels Extends High Alert, Citing ‘Imminent’ Threat
Citing a “serious and imminent” threat of attack, Belgium’s prime minister announced Monday that Brussels will remain at the highest alert level for at least another week, maintaining security measures that have severely disrupted normal life in the capital.
What Is It About Molenbeek? The Bit of Belgium That Was a Base for Paris Terror Attacks
Just as during the German invasions of 1914 and 1940, war, it seems, is coming to France through Belgium.
Why Were the Paris Attacks Rooted in Belgium?
The family homes of the suspected mastermind of the Paris attacks and one of the suicide bombers stand only a few blocks apart in the Belgian capital’s Molenbeek neighborhood. After a string of attacks in recent years linked to its grimy streets in central Brussels, a key question arises: Why Belgium?
