Muslim teacher among dead in Brussels attack

Brussels, Belgium – A popular teacher who worked at an Islamic school in Brussels was among those killed in the Brussels attacks.

Teachers and students have been mourning the loss of Loubna Lafquiri, a young mother of three, after the confirmation of her death.

They had been fearing the news since Tuesday, the day of the attacks, when she did not show up to work. She had been travelling via the metro.

Coordinated attacks on the Zaventem airport and Maelbeek metro station in the Belgian capital left 31 people dead – including the three attackers, and were claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group.

“We can’t be anything but angry and reject the beliefs of these people who claim to be Muslims,” said Mohamed Allaf, secretary-general of the Muslim Schools Association. “There is no religion in the world that advocates killing human beings.”

READ MORE: The slaughter of the innocent in Brussels

The gym teacher’s students have been encouraged to express themselves in drawings, poems and messages. Other teachers said they hoped this would help the children to come to terms with their loss.

In mosques across Brussels, talk of the attacks has dominated Friday prayers. Muslims have been thinking about their place in Belgian society and they are worried about the future.

Khadija Zamouri, a Muslim parliamentarian in Brussels, said her children are beginning to ask questions about their faith.

“I hear … from my own children. It’s like, ‘Can we still say that we are Muslim? Shouldn’t we be secret about it? Can we say Allahu Akhbar?’ It’s like everything to do with religion has become contaminated,” she told Al Jazeera.

The victims of the attacks came from several countries, including the US, UK, India, Morocco, Peru and China.