Did local Belgian politician Saliha Raiss say "Anyone who doesn't accept veiled women, anyone who doesn't accept Islam in Belgium, can leave" or that "Belgians should leave Belgium"? No, that's not true: A video clip from a municipal council meeting in Molenbeek, a part of Brussels in Belgium, was misrepresented by social media posts. She was talking about people who made social media posts saying she wore a curtain on her head and jokingly said if those people didn't want to see that and found Molenbeek so "unlivable" there were plenty of other municipalities in Brussels and they should get out.
The quote appeared in a a post on X (archived here) published on September 1, 2025 which opened:
Saliha Raiss, a politician from Molenbeek, wants a Europe without Europeans: "Anyone who doesn't accept veiled women, anyone who doesn't accept Islam in Belgium, can leave!" This is Islam.
The post was later quoted by Elon Musk (archived here) with a comment that read:
Belgians must leave Belgium!?
This is insane.
Nowhere in the clip does she say anything about "accepting islam", Europe, Europeans, Belgians or leaving Belgium.
A transcript of the video in the original French read:
Et si ces gens-là "qui portent des tissus tentures", je peux donner les références si vous voulez, parce qu'apparemment ceci est beaucoup de de de d'intérêt. Si on dérange tant que ça, si on ne veut même plus nous voir, je veux dire la région compte 19 communes. Bah si à Molenbeek apparemment c'est si invivable hein, changer de bord quoi. Allez-y ailleurs. Dégagez.
Translated it read:
And if these people "who wear drapery fabrics", I can give the references if you want, because apparently this is very interesting. If we are so disturbing, if they don't even want to see us anymore, I mean the region has 19 municipalities. Well, if in Molenbeek it's apparently so unlivable, eh, change sides. Go somewhere else. Get out.
Belgian public broadcaster VRT published an article on September 1, 2025 (archived here) explaining the context of the remark:
The controversial debate in the city council on August 27th actually revolved around a Facebook post by the French-speaking liberal party MR, concerning animal welfare in Molenbeek. The comments below that post allegedly contained numerous racist and Islamophobic remarks.
One Facebook comment stated, among other things, that Alderman Saliha Raiss - then acting mayor - "wears a curtain on her head."
During the city council meeting, Raiss complained about the lack of moderation on the MR's social media (under chairman George-Louis Bouchez) and accused council member Didier Milis (MR) of trivializing racism as a result. She jokingly remarked that people who find her "curtains" offensive should just leave.
(Translated by Google Translate)
Lead Stories reviewed the video of the municipal council meeting (archived here) and confirmed this is indeed what happened:
