The Council of State has been seized of an appeal against the provisional Islamic body

The Council of State published on October 5, 2026, the notice by which it informs the public that a petition for annulment has been filed against the Royal Decree of June 12, 2026, amending the recognition of the provisional representative body of the Islamic faith in Belgium. The notice, issued in application of Article 3quater of the Regent’s Decree of August 23, 1948, determining the procedure before the administrative litigation section, appears in the Belgian Official Gazette of October 5, 2026, page 52961, under reference C − 2026/007023. The case is entered on the docket under number G/A. 248.873/XV-6666.

What the appeal challenges

The targeted text is a Royal Decree of June 12, 2026, which amends the Royal Decree of June 12, 2023, regarding the recognition of a provisional representative body of the Islamic faith in Belgium. It further repeals Articles 2 and 3, paragraph 2, of the Royal Decree of September 29, 2022, relating to the withdrawal of recognition of the Executive of Muslims of Belgium and the repeal of the Royal Decree of February 15, 2016, recognizing said executive. These repealed provisions concerned the continuity of public service.

The challenged Royal Decree was published in the Belgian Official Gazette on June 19, 2026, thirteen days after its signature. The petition for annulment is therefore directed against a text already published and in force.

A notice procedure, not a decision

The notice is prescribed by Article 3quater of the Regent’s Decree of August 23, 1948: it informs third parties of the existence of the appeal pending before the administrative litigation section of the Council of State. It is signed by Gr. Delannay, chief registrar, and published in three languages—French, Dutch, and German—in the same issue of the official journal.

• Appeal: annulment of the Royal Decree of June 12, 2026
• Jurisdiction: administrative litigation section of the Council of State
• Docket: G/A. 248.873/XV-6666
• Notice reference: C − 2026/007023
• Publication: Belgian Official Gazette of October 5, 2026, p. 52961

The notice does not decide anything: it acknowledges the filing of the petition and opens the publicity of the proceedings. No petitioner is identified in the published text.

A sensitive file on the recognition of faith

The dispute concerns the institutional architecture of the recognized Islamic faith in Belgium, a recurring subject in the pages of the Belgian Official Gazette. The official journal regularly publishes ministerial decrees approving the budgets and accounts of the committees responsible for the temporal management of recognized local Islamic communities, following approval by the Muslim Council of Belgium—a series of acts appearing notably in the edition of September 18, 2026.

The recognition of a provisional representative body is part of this chain: it determines the official interlocutor of the Islamic faith with the State, with the administrative and financial consequences that this implies for recognized mosques.

Key Takeaways

The appeal is pending before the Council of State and its outcome is uncertain. Until a ruling has been issued, the Royal Decree of June 12, 2026 remains applicable and the provisional representative body retains its mission. A potential annulment would challenge the rules of continuity of public service removed by the contested text and would reopen the file on the official representation of the Muslim faith in Belgium.

Source: Belgian Official Gazette of October 5, 2026, p. 52961, act C − 2026/007023, roll G/A. 248.873/XV-6666.