Muslim No-Go Areas Are Now Tourist Attractions

There was a surreal article in the German newspaper Die Welt yesterday, recommending the Muslim no-go areas of Brussels as tourist attractions. This wasn't tongue-in-cheek either. They were serious. Here's a taste.

Don't shy away from no-go areas

Crime is a big problem in Belgium's capital. Many districts are considered no-go-areas, in which not even the police dare to go. But: you miss out on a lot if you avoid them.

Admitted, crime is a big problem in Belgium's capital. The number of smaller crimes especially is as huge as the unemployment. Many districts - Anderlecht, Molenbeek, Cureghem – are considered no-go-areas. It's true, when darkness falls, you should definitely not get lost there.

But you miss out on a lot if you don't leave the usual well-worn path to the Grand Place. Because every day, right there in Anderlecht, you can dive into a diversity of languages, cultures, smells and colours that is bursting from every seam.

The district on the other side of the canal, which forms a kind of south-western border for the city, is home to a fascinating mixture of peoples: the whole of black Africa is gathered there, the Muslim north of the continent, Turks, Asians as well as the long-established Flemish and the French-speaking Brusselites.

It's not often you hear dialogues like this when shopping in Germany: "Are you from the Congo?", one African woman asks another at the vegetable stall. "No, I'm from Rwanda", answers the other.

Source: Die Welt Via: SOS Heimat

There's more in this vein, including a recommendation for a restaurant, ironically called "La Paix" [The Peace] that operates just across the road from a place where smuggled cigarettes and weapons are traded.

Isn't Muslim immigration great? Now we don't need to go to Africa or South America to have dangerous adventure holidays! We can do it right in the heart of Europe! Wunderbar!

H/T  Cheradenine