Turks in Belgium
Encyclopedia
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
who live in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
even though having been born outside Belgium, or are Belgian-born, but have Turkish roots. By Turkish roots, this could mean roots linking back to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, the island of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
or the communities of the Turkish diaspora.
History
Turkish migration to Belgium started in the 1960s when Turkey signed a bilateral agreement with Belgium in July 1964 which was actively encouraged by Belgium to meet man power needs in an era of rapid economic expansion. Three types of immigration can be distinguished: immigration as a result of recruitment by the Belgian government, the immigration tourists, and the arrival of political figures. In 1963 and 1964, a total of 12,256 workers were sent to Belgium. This was organised by an international agreement between TurkeyTurkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and was due to economic factors. Turkish immigrants, mostly from eastern Turkey
Eastern Anatolia Region
The Eastern Anatolia Region is one of seven non-administrative subdivisions of Turkey and encompasses its eastern provinces.The region and the name "Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi" were first defined at the First Geography Congress in 1941. It has the highest average altitude, largest geographical area, and...
and the Black Sea region
Black Sea Region
The Black Sea Region is one of Turkey's seven census-defined geographical regions . It is bordered by the Marmara Region to the west, the Central Anatolia Region to the south, the Eastern Anatolia Region to the southeast, the Republic of Georgia to the northeast, and the Black Sea to the north.-...
but also Turks of Balkan descents (mainly of Albanian, ex-Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
n or Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
origins), were welcomed to Belgium as guest workers. They settled in industrialised areas and were allowed later to bring in their families. As unskilled labourers, they hoped to make a fortune in a short time and then return to Turkey. But things moved more slowly than expected, and a chain of immigration developed over the years. Moreover, between 1964–1967, Belgium attempted to resolve the growing problem of low population by encouraging family reunions.
The phenomenon of the immigrant as a tourist started in the 1970s when Turks, mostly from the Afyon area in Turkey(especially from the town of Emirdağ
Emirdag
Emirdağ is a town and district of Afyonkarahisar Province in Turkey, between the city of Afyon and Eskişehir. It covers an area of 2,009 km², and the population is 42,111 of which 19,991 live in the town of Emirdağ itself. The mayor is Cengiz Pala .The Emirdağ Mountains rise steeply behind...
), came with a tourist visa to Belgium. The reason for the high concentration of Emirdağ migrants in Belgium is that the bulk of Turkish migrants received by Belgian coalmines in the initial years were from Emirdağ. The first groups paved the way for chain migrations, aided by Beligians liberal work and residence permits policy. Upon arrival they looked for work and tried to legalise their status as labourers. The presence of these tourists created a 'black market' labour force so that on two occasions the government had to legalise their status. Once they obtained the status of guest workers they could bring in their family.
By the 1980s, immigration to Belgium for economic reasons was forbidden by law. The only legal way to take up residence in Belgium was by family reunion, which was only applicable to members of the nuclear family
Nuclear family
Nuclear family is a term used to define a family group consisting of a father and mother and their children. This is in contrast to the smaller single-parent family, and to the larger extended family. Nuclear families typically center on a married couple, but not always; the nuclear family may have...
of guest workers or by marrying someone who was a Belgian citizen
Belgian nationality law
Belgian citizenship is based on a mixture of the principles of Jus sanguinis and Jus soli. In other words, both place of birth and Belgian parentage are relevant for determining whether a person is a Belgian citizen. It is regulated by the Code of Belgian Nationality.In some circumstances...
. Another possible motive for coming to Belgium was to apply for the status of asylum-seeker upon arrival. Turkish asylum seekers came from all over Turkey, with some belonging to minority groups in the country. Other asylum seekers are ethnic Turks from Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
(such as Turks from Bulgaria
Turks in Bulgaria
The Turks in Bulgaria number 588,318 people and constitute 8.8% of those who declared their ethnic group and 8.0% of the total population according to the 2011 Bulgarian census. 605,802 persons or 9.1% of the population pointed Turkish language as their mother tongue. They are also the largest...
and Macedonia).
Since the entry of Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
into the European Union, thousands of Bulgarian Turks, among whom many were already working in Belgium as undocumented foreigners, have established themselves under the status of independent workers, i.e. officially minor associates in small firms, mostly in the building and cleaning sector. They've brought with them their spouses and children, thus beginning to make Belgium their new home, some children are indeed born in Belgium, even when their parents were or are still undocumented. There were officially 1,957 Bulgarian-born persons living in Belgium in 2001, 4,807 in 2006.
Demographics
| Naturalisation of Turkish citizens: | |||||||
| Year | Population | Year | Population | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 706 | 1999 | 4,402 | ||||
| 1991 | 1,020 | 2000 | 17,282 | ||||
| 1992 | 4,044 | 2001 | 14,401 | ||||
| 1993 | 3,415 | 2002 | 7,805 | ||||
| 1994 | 6,263 | 2003 | 5,186 | ||||
| 1995 | 6,925 | 2004 | 4,467 | ||||
| 1996 | 7,066 | 2005 | 3,602 | ||||
| 1997 | 7,835 | 2006 | 3,204 | ||||
| 1998 | 6,932 | 2007 | 3,039 | ||||
The census of 1970 counted 21,000 Turks; in the part-census of 1977 this figure had risen to 60,000. For the next few years, family reunifications continued to raise the totals and by 1981 there were 64,000 Turks. Although this growth was slowing down, it did continue to grow to 72,000 Turks by 1985. By 1996, there were 81,744 Turks in Belgium, 26% of whom lived in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
and 50% in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
-particularly in Antwerp and Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
. In 1993, some 88,269 people with Turkish nationality were registered in Belgium, however by 1999, this dropped to 70,701 Turkish nationals because a substantial part of the population adopted the Belgian nationality.
Turks still continue to migrate to Belgium in the hope of building a better future; many lured by social and economic security.
The majority of Turks living in Belgium originate from the region of Emirdağ
Emirdag
Emirdağ is a town and district of Afyonkarahisar Province in Turkey, between the city of Afyon and Eskişehir. It covers an area of 2,009 km², and the population is 42,111 of which 19,991 live in the town of Emirdağ itself. The mayor is Cengiz Pala .The Emirdağ Mountains rise steeply behind...
although there are also many Turks from Sivas who found their way to Belgium. Some 49.8% live in the Flemish region
Flemish Region
The Flemish Region is one of the three official regions of the Kingdom of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region. Colloquially, it is usually simply referred to as Flanders, of which it is the institutional iteration within the context of the Belgian political system...
, 25.2% in Wallonia, and 25% in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. Turks from the same region in Turkey also tend to congregate not only in the same cities but also in the same quarters.
The majority of Turks live in the Schaarbeek
Schaarbeek
Schaerbeek or Schaarbeek is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. The first mention of the name was Scarenbecca, recorded in a document from the Bishop of Cambrai in 1120...
commune where they make some 40% of the population. The Chaussee De Haecht street is heavily populated with Turkish immigrants, with its pizzerias, pastry shops, cafes, and barbers, is reminiscent of a Turkish street. According to the Turkish Consulate in Antwerp, the number of Turks there is about 75,000, and there are 115 Turkish associations just in Antwerp. There are an addition 82 Turkish associations in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
.
Sunni Muslims
The majority of Turks are Sunni MuslimsSeveral Turkish Sunni groupings are active in Belgium, most notably Milli Görüş
Millî Görüs
Millî Görüş has been called one of "the leading Turkish diaspora organizations in Europe". Founded in 1969, the movement claimed to have "87,000 members across Europe, including 50,000 in Germany," as of 2005...
(Fédération islamique belge), the Süleymancis
Süleyman Hilmi Tunahan
Süleyman Hilmi Tunahan, , was a 20th century Islamic scholar born in the small Ottoman village of Ferhatlar, also known as and today Delchevo in the Razgrad Province, Bulgaria...
(Union des Centres culturels islamiques de Belgique), the Nurcus
Said Nursî
Bediuzzaman Said Nursî ,commonly known as Bediüzzaman , which means "The Wonder of the Age" was a Muslim scholar who wrote the Risale-i Nur Collection, a body of Qur'anic commentary exceeding six thousand pages. . He was born in Nurs, a village in the Ottoman Bitlis Province in eastern Anatolia. He...
and the Gülencis
Gülen movement
The Gülen movement is a transnational civic society movement inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic theologian Fethullah Gülen. His teachings about hizmet have attracted a large number of supporters in Turkey, Central Asia and increasingly in other parts of the world...
. As in other countries, there is also an official Sunni Diyanet (Fondation religieuse islamique turque de Belgique), which controls most mosques and a majority of the affiliations to the repatriation funerary insurance.
Shi'a Muslims
There are also among the Turkish population in Belgium AzeriAzerbaijani people
The Azerbaijanis are a Turkic-speaking people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as in the neighbourhood states, Georgia, Russia and formerly Armenia. Commonly referred to as Azeris or Azerbaijani Turks , they also live in a wider area from the Caucasus to...
Shi'a Muslims from the region of Iğdır
Igdir
Iğdır is the capital of Iğdır Province in the Eastern Anatolia Region, Turkey, and borders Armenia, Azerbaijan and Iran. The border with Armenia is formed by the Aras River...
. They have a mosque in the municipality of Molenbeek
Molenbeek-Saint-Jean
Sint-Jans-Molenbeek or Molenbeek-Saint-Jean is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium.-Rural beginnings:...
(26 rue Jennart), one of the municipalities in the Brussels Region, till 2004 called Mohammed-Ali, since then Centre culturel et religieux islamique chiite Mohammed-Ali. Its board of administrators of three persons, the President, the Secretary and the Treasurer, are all born in Iğdır
Igdir
Iğdır is the capital of Iğdır Province in the Eastern Anatolia Region, Turkey, and borders Armenia, Azerbaijan and Iran. The border with Armenia is formed by the Aras River...
, two of them have the dual Turkish-Belgian citizenship and live in Brussels, the third one was only a Turkish citizen when he was elected in 2004, he lives in the Flemish city
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
of Aalst
Aalst
Aalst can refer to:Place names* Aalst, Belgium, a city and municipality in Belgium* Aalst, Buren, a village in the Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland* Aalst, North Brabant, a village in the Netherlands, in the province of North-Brabant...
, a 20-odd km from Brussels.
Alevis
Another Turkish Muslim community present in Belgium is the Alevi one, with several associations in Brussels, the Centre culturel turc pour le respect de la personne humaine - Erenler (Turkish cultural centre for the respect of the human being - Erenler), officially registered in 1994, founded by Alevis from the village of Karacalar, near Emirdag, led by their traditional spirituel leader (dede) from the Şahbaz family, and the more progressive Centre socioculturel alévi de Bruxelles, officially registered in 2003 by 14 founding members, 4 of whom were born in ElbistanElbistan
Elbistan is a district in Kahramanmaraş Province in southern Turkey. Elbistan city center's population is 85,642 ....
, 3 in Belgium, 2 in Gücük (near Elbistan), the rest in Adıyaman
Adiyaman
Adıyaman is city in southeastern Turkey, capital of the Adıyaman Province. It is one of the fastest-growing cities in Turkey...
, Inis, Tunceli, Soğucak and Sün), Charleroi
Charleroi
Charleroi is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. , the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of and had a total population of 522,522 as of 1 January 2008, ranking it as...
(Centre culturel alévi de Charleroi, officially registered in 1999 by 9 founding members, 6 of whom had the dual Turkish-Belgian citizenship), Antwerp (Alevietische Kultureel Centrum Antwerpen), Liège
Liège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
(from 2002 till 2004 Liège Alevi Kultur Dernegi - Association culturelle Alévi de Liège, since 2005 Foyer culturel alévi de Liège) and the Limburg province
Limburg (Belgium)
Limburg is the easternmost province of modern Flanders, which is one of the three main political and cultural sub-divisions of modern Belgium. It is located west of the river Meuse . It borders on the Dutch provinces of North Brabant and Limburg and the Belgian provinces of Liège, Flemish Brabant...
(Samenwerking Limburgse Alevieten, officially registered in 1990). There is also a Federation of the Belgian Alevi Associations, Belçika Alevi Birlikleri Federasyonu, since 2008 Fédération unions des Alévis en Belgique - Belçika Alevi Birlikleri Federasyonu (FUAB-BABF), created in 2003, based in Antwerp, then in Brussels in 2006, and grouping the Alevietische Kultureel Centrum Antwerpen, the Centre culturel alévi de Charleroi and the Samenwerking Limburgse Alevieten.
Alawites
There are also an unknown number of Arab Alawites from the Hatay provinceHatay Province
Hatay Province is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast. It is bordered by Syria to the south and east and the Turkish provinces of Adana and Osmaniye to the north. The province is part of Çukurova, a geographical, economical and cultural region that covers the provinces of...
, but there are no information as to their religious practice or organization, they are only known through the political activities of some of them. The first Turkish municipal councillor in Belgium, Nevfel Morçimen, elected in Fléron
Fléron
Fléron is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. On January 1, 2006 Fléron had a total population of 16,088. The total area is which gives a population density of 1,172 inhabitants per km²....
in 1994, is an Alawite. His daughter Nadya Morçimen was elected in 2006, when her father retired from the political scene. There is another Alawite municipal councillor in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode
Saint-Josse-ten-Noode
Sint-Joost-ten-Node or Saint-Josse-ten-Noode is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium....
since 2010, Nuray Dogru, aunt of DHKP-C activist Bahar Kimyongür, both are from a Samandağ
Samandag
Seleucia Pieria was a town in antiquity, the capital of Seleucus I Nicator, in Syria Prima. It was the port of the western Seleucid capital of Antioch, lying close to the mouth of the Orontes. Its ruins lie at the seaside village of Çevliknear the town of Samandağ in the Hatay Province of Turkey...
family.
Organisations and associations
There are dozens of Turkish associations in Belgium, most are grouped into federations, either linked to the Turkish government (Diyanet) and embassy or to various Turkish religious and political movements, Milli GörüşMillî Görüs
Millî Görüş has been called one of "the leading Turkish diaspora organizations in Europe". Founded in 1969, the movement claimed to have "87,000 members across Europe, including 50,000 in Germany," as of 2005...
(Fédération islamique belge), the Nurcus
Said Nursî
Bediuzzaman Said Nursî ,commonly known as Bediüzzaman , which means "The Wonder of the Age" was a Muslim scholar who wrote the Risale-i Nur Collection, a body of Qur'anic commentary exceeding six thousand pages. . He was born in Nurs, a village in the Ottoman Bitlis Province in eastern Anatolia. He...
, the Süleymancis
Süleyman Hilmi Tunahan
Süleyman Hilmi Tunahan, , was a 20th century Islamic scholar born in the small Ottoman village of Ferhatlar, also known as and today Delchevo in the Razgrad Province, Bulgaria...
(Union des Centres islamiques de Belgique), the Gülenci
Fethullah Gülen
Muhammed Fethullah Gülen is a Turkish preacher, author, educator, and Sufi Muslim scholar living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania . He is the founder and leader of the Gülen movement...
(Prisma, BETIAD, Lucerna, etc.), the Grey Wolves
Grey Wolves
The Idealist Youth , commonly known as Grey Wolves , is an ultra-nationalist neo-fascist youth organization. It is accused of terrorism. According to Turkish authorities, the organization carried out 694 murders between 1974–1980.-Name:...
(Verbond der Turkse Verenigingen in België, Belçika Ülkücü Türk Dernekleri Federasyon/Belçika Türk Federasyonu) etc.
The Association of Turkish Businessman in Belgium (BETIAD), was founded in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
in 1997, is a Turkish trade association, aiming to bring together Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
businessmen. BETIAD is linked to the Gülenci
Fethullah Gülen
Muhammed Fethullah Gülen is a Turkish preacher, author, educator, and Sufi Muslim scholar living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania . He is the founder and leader of the Gülen movement...
movement, of which it is a major financial contributor.
The Association of Turkish Businessman (UNACO), was founded in 2004 in the port town of Antwerp and aims, besides bringing Turkish businessmen together, to contribute to the relations between Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and between Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
.
Political participation
At the federal level, several deputies and senators have been elected or coopted to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and SenateBelgian Senate
The Belgian Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parliament.-History and future:...
. Among them, the Flemish Socialists Cemal Çavdarlı
Cemal Çavdarlı
Cemal Çavdarlı, born in Emirdağ on 15 March 1966, is a binational Turkish-Belgian politician, formerly active in the Socialist Party – Differently , since May 2010 in the Lijst Dedecker , a conservative liberal party and since April 2011 in the Islamic conservative Justice and Development Party ...
(deputy in 2003-2007) and Fatma Pehlivan (senator in 2001-2007, and again in 2009-2010), the Flemish Ecologists Meryem Kaçar (senator in 1999-2003) and Meyrem Almacı
Meyrem Almaci
Meyrem Almaci is a Belgian politician and member of the ecological party Groen!. On 10 June 2007, she was elected into the Belgian Chamber of Representatives for the first time...
(deputy since 2007, reelected in 2010), the Flemish Christian Democrat Hilâl Yalçın (deputy in 2007-2010), the N-VA
New-Flemish Alliance
' is a Flemish right-wing political party, founded in the autumn of 2001. It is a conservative and liberal movement that promotes civic nationalism...
attorney Zuhal Demir
Zuhal Demir
Zuhal Demir is a Belgian lawyer and politician affiliated to the N-VA. Demir was elected as a member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in 2010....
(deputy since June 2010) and French-speaking Socialist
Socialist Party (francophone Belgium)
The Socialist Party is a Francophone social-democratic political party in Belgium. As of the 2010 elections, it is the second largest party in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the largest Francophone party...
Özlem Özen (deputy since June 2010). Kaçar, Cavdarlı and Pehlivan are Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
residents, Almacı and Demir are Antwerp residents Yalçın comes from the Limburg province and Ozen from the Walloon province of Hainaut.
There are also Turkish-Belgian members of the regional parliaments, one of them, Emir Kir (French-speaking Socialist Party
Socialist Party (francophone Belgium)
The Socialist Party is a Francophone social-democratic political party in Belgium. As of the 2010 elections, it is the second largest party in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the largest Francophone party...
), became an underminister in the Brussels regional government
Politics and Government of the Brussels-Capital Region
The government of the Brussels-Capital Region is the political administration of the Brussels region of Belgium. An election is held every five years...
in 2004
Belgian regional elections, 2004
On June 13, 2004, regional elections were held in Belgium, to choose representatives in the regional councils of the Flemish Parliament, the Walloon Parliament, the Brussels Parliament and the German-speaking Community of Belgium...
, and again in 2009
Belgian regional elections, 2009
Regional elections were held in Belgium on 7 June 2009 to choose representatives in the regional councils of Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels and the German-speaking Community of Belgium...
, as Secretary for Public Sanitation and Monument Conservation.
A dozen Turkish-Belgian municipal councillors became échevin or schepen (alderman) after the 2006 municipal elections, mostly in Flanders or the Brussels Region, plus a few in Wallonia.
Music
Turks have also contributed to music in Belgium, recently HadiseHadise
Hadise Açıkgöz , is a Belgian born Turkish singer of Circassian descent. Hadise's career began in 2004 with the release of her debut single "Sweat", which peaked at 19 on the Flanders chart. Hadise continued to release more successful singles, most notably the single "Milk Chocolate Girl"...
daughter of a family from Sivas was in the pop music world in Belgium. Hadise made a name for herself in 2003 in the “Idool” song contest sponsored by VTM, the largest Belgian broadcaster. Her songs “Stir Me Up
Stir Me Up
"Stir Me Up" is an English R&B song by Belgian-Turkish singer Hadise from her debut album Sweat. It was her first single to receive airplay within Turkey...
” and her album “Milk Chocolate Girl
Milk Chocolate Girl
"Milk Chocolate Girl" is an English R&B song by Belgian-Turkish singer Hadise. It is the third single from her debut album Sweat and is the most successful song by Hadise from her album Sweat and was from her career so far, until the release of My Body, in 2008 debuting higher than the peak of...
” were on top of the charts for a long time.
External links
- Belgian-Turkish Business Association (BETIAD, linked to the GülenciFethullah GülenMuhammed Fethullah Gülen is a Turkish preacher, author, educator, and Sufi Muslim scholar living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania . He is the founder and leader of the Gülen movement...
movement) - Info-Türk (Turkish Progressive news agency based in Brussels)