Expelled in January 2022, Moroccan imam Mohamed Toujgani is now allowed to return to Belgium after the Court of Cassation rejected the Belgian state's appeal against the decision to grant him Belgian nationality. His initial request—filed in 2019 to extend his residence permit and obtain citizenship—had been denied after the resurfacing of controversial remarks he made in 2009 during the Israeli offensive on Gaza (2008–2009), which were deemed radical. Although the decision to revoke his residence permit was made in October 2021, it was only made public in January 2022. Based on a report from State Security, authorities cited a «threat to national security», and Toujgani was ordered to leave Belgium later that year. In 2024, however, the Brussels Court of Appeal approved his application for Belgian nationality. This ruling would have allowed him to return once he received his identity card. The state challenged the decision in the Court of Cassation, but the appeal was ultimately dismissed. Born in 1955 and a resident of Belgium since 1982, Mohamed Toujgani had already received a favorable ruling on October 1, 2021, which found no legal grounds to deny him Belgian nationality.
