### The Negus of Belgium
Naïma Amzil is a veiled Muslim young woman who works for a food company in the Flanders region of Belgium. The head of the company where she works, named Rik Remmery, received death threats targeting him and his family from a racist terrorist group demanding that he fire Naïma Amzil if she insisted on wearing the hijab at work.
In response, Naïma offered her resignation to her manager, but he categorically refused. He insisted on retaining her, decided not to yield, and at the same time, the residents of Flanders increasingly supported the company chief's brave stance, while an employers' organization gathered the signatures of 17,000 people in solidarity with Rik Remmery.
This was a summary of a news report published by *Al-Mujtama* magazine.
What is striking about this matter is how the residents of the Flanders region—estimated at six million people—united in supporting the stance of the Belgian company president who stood by his Muslim employee and her freedom to wear the hijab.
Not only that, but the news has a continuation that is, in my view, stranger than fiction. This case reached the ears of King Albert II of Belgium. So, what did this king do? Did he turn a deaf ear and leave the company president to face this matter alone with the Muslim employee against this terrorist group? Or did he order that the issue of a Muslim woman who holds no weight in Belgian society be ignored? Or did he consider it an insignificant matter—just a piece of cloth placed on the head, where wearing it or taking it off is all the same?
On the contrary, this king took a noble and wonderful stance regarding this veiled Muslim woman. He expressed his solidarity with the company president, and a statement was issued by the Royal Palace stating that the King would receive Rik Remmery, the head of the food company, along with his employee Naïma Amzil.
The statement mentioned that King Albert II was closely following the developments of the case. This meeting took place last January at the Royal Palace.
Glory be to Allah! Five parties rose to support this simple Muslim employee in a Catholic country, led by:
1. The King of the country.
2. The company manager.
3. The public in the Flanders region.
4. An employers' organization.
5. An association of business executives, which addressed the company president saying: *"May your calm stance become a symbol of tolerance in the Flanders region."*
One wonders: Does a Muslim woman holding fast to her religion enjoy such support from her own society and government in many countries?
Albert II, King of Belgium—a country whose population exceeds 10 million, one of the largest industrial nations in Europe, a founding member of the European Union, and the beating heart of Europe, with its capital Brussels serving as headquarters for several international organizations such as NATO...
All of this did not prevent this just king from caring about the issue of a Muslim employee holding onto her hijab. He did not consider her reactionary or backward, as some like to call it; rather, justice and freedom were his motto in this noble stance.
How similar is the stance of the King of Belgium to that of the Negus (*Al-Najashi*), the King of Abyssinia, more than 14 centuries ago in his support for the Muslims!
How much today resembles yesterday! How many an arrogant tyrant subjects his people to all kinds of torment and humiliation, and how many a Negus has supported Muslims so they could live free on his land—learning, working, establishing associations and institutions, with some even gaining citizenship rights!
A tribute to the King of Belgium, Albert II, and a tribute to every Negus in the world.
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*Source: Kuwaiti Al-Mujtama Magazine*
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