Muslim woman run down during anti-Islamic rally in Brussels
The passenger of the car is shown casually filming from his phone moments before
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A Muslim woman has been run over by a car appearing to drive at speed directly towards her during a right-wing rally in Brussels.
Video footage shows a white Audi drive through a police road block and then straight towards into a Muslim woman dressed in a hijab as she crosses the road.
She is dragged onto the bonnet and then falls to the ground as the car continues.
The footage was from a rally in which anti-immigration "activists" staged a demonstration against Muslims in Molenbeek, the Brussels suburb where the airport bombings and last November's Paris attacks were allegedly planned.
About 400 people were chanting anti-Islamic slogans at the rally, prompting many of the Muslim residents in the area to come out onto the streets.
Riot police had erected barriers between the two sides.
The male passenger of the car is shown filming through the window moments before the car hits the Muslim woman, who is understood to have been badly injured.
Medics rushed to her aid and Belgian media reported that the alleged perpetrator was arrested.
Islamophobia has risen across Europe following terrorist attacks on the Paris office of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in January 2015 and the second Paris attacks in November 2015, as well as the bombings at Brussels airport and a metro station on 22 March 2016.
Isis has claimed responsibility for both the attacks, in which more than 150 people died in total and hundreds more were injured.
Muslims make up the majority of Isis' victims, with thousands killed since the terrorist group's insurgency in Syria and millions more forced to flee their homelands.
Update: The two men driving the car have been identified as local residents called Redouane B and Mohamed B. The original headline incorrectly stated that the victim had been run down by far right activists; we have since amended the headline and apologise for the error”.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments