13,000 see far-right American preacher in Brussels

Far-right American evangelist Franklin Graham drew a crowd of 13,000 to the area in and around the ING Arena in Brussels at the weekend, where he delivered a sermon espousing a mix of religious and political views.

Described by some critics as a "hate preacher" and US president Donald Trump’s pastor, Graham has said that gay marriage is orchestrated by Satan, transgenderism is a fad and that he is in favour of conversion therapy – a method of attempting to "cure" LGBTQ+ people through invasive medical procedures that is illegal in Belgium and many other European countries.

Graham has also compared doctors who perform abortions to Germans working in concentration camps during the second world war.

The evangelist and missionary denied in an interview with Bruzz that he was Islamophobic, despite having called Islam "a very evil religion of hatred and violence".

“A lot of the criticism is unjustified,” Graham told Bruzz.

“We are active in many Muslim countries, from Syria to Jordan to Iraq. We help Palestinians in Gaza. We love Muslims. But radical Islam is something else.”

In regards to his comments about the LGBTQ+ community, Graham said: “But I care about them. I don't agree with them, I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. But that doesn't mean I don't like them or that I hate them.”

Graham's audience in Brussels was composed of evangelicals - who make up an estimated 1% of people in Belgium - namely Protestants from 620 churches in the country.

“So many believers turned up that we couldn't fit them all in,” said Genk-based co-organiser Rosario Anastasi.

“Some 9,000 people could fit in the ING Arena, and we accommodated another 4,000 in an adjacent hall where they could follow everything via livestream.”

The event, dubbed "The Festival of Hope", featured prayers, music and sermons in which Graham warned the audience of the second coming of Christ, saying that “the worse the world gets, the closer He is, it’s written in the Bible”.

Graham remains a spiritual advisor to Trump and says that Trump listens to him.

Son of the famous evangelist Billy Graham, also known for his divisive rhetoric, he said he came to Brussels to “give young people the opportunity to believe in God's plan and build a personal relationship with Jesus”.

During his rally, Graham echoed remarks Trump made before the United Nations that European countries are heading for hell because they have not controlled the flow of migrants.

“President Trump is the most powerful president in my lifetime,” Graham said.

“He is not just a politician, but says what he thinks and defends Christianity.”

Domenico Rampello, priest and minister at La Providence church in Anderlecht, was present 50 years ago at a sermon given by Billy Graham.

“When I heard that his son was coming to Brussels for our joint event, I relived that moment and became emotional,” said Rampello.

“We distinguish ourselves from other churches by our personal relationship with God and Jesus. He and the Bible clearly show us the direction we need to take... The American evangelical church is very active politically. In Europe, we don't do that; we respect the separation of church and state.”

The separation of church and state is enshrined in the American constitution. Nevertheless, Trump announced on social media last week that any American with views considered "anti-Christianity" would be potentially labelled and prosecuted as a domestic terrorist.

Trump signed an executive order to this end, creating a taskforce to target those with "extreme" opinions on "migration, race and gender", and those with "anti-Christian" and "anti-capitalist" beliefs, among others.

Photo: Council.gov.ru/Wikimedia. Licensed under Creative Commons