Anna von Hausswolff's concerts threatened again.

Dominican fathers in Belgium claim to have received in recent days a flood of hate messages linked to the programming in a church in Brussels of this Swedish artist considered "satanist" and already in the crosshairs of fundamentalist Catholics in France.

This religious community has, however, decided to maintain the two performances scheduled for this Monday evening by singer and organist Anna von Hausswolff, which will be sold out and under police surveillance, one of the Dominicans told AFP.

"Our great organ must also be placed at the service of culture"

"We do not accept this kind of diktat", underlined the latter, Ignace Berten, about "dozens of emails" received by his community to denounce the holding of this concert in a religious building. “Even if the artist is debatable, our great organ has been restored thanks to public funding and we therefore consider that it must also be put at the service of culture,” he added.

At the microphone of the RTBF, a spokesperson for the community spoke of "hate messages (received) in waves", "essentially anonymous threats".

The Dominicans began to be the target when they announced on social networks that they had agreed to host this concert organized by the Botanique, a renowned cultural center in the Belgian capital.

Their church has a Van Bever organ with a romantic aesthetic "which fits very well" to the Swedish repertoire, according to the management of the Botanique.

Several canceled concerts

The 35-year-old artist, native of Gothenburg, is a singer, pianist, organist and songwriter of post-metal and experimental rock. In one of her songs,

Pills

, she evokes drug addiction and metaphorically says that she "made love with the devil", which earned her the recent target of fundamentalists during her tour. in France.

Last week in France, elected officials from Nantes were forced to cancel one of his concerts.

A video broadcast by local media showed a group of opponents blocking the entrance to the church where it was scheduled to sing, “Holy Mary mother of God, pray for us poor sinners”.

A few days later, it was in Paris that the artist encountered new problems.

Initially planned at the Saint-Eustache church, his concert was finally canceled and was held in another place, kept secret.

"Everything starts from France"

In Brussels, the Botanique insisted that the controversial song was not on the program of the two concerts on Monday evening, which were only instrumental.

Due to the threatening messages, the organizer obtained a police presence to ensure the safety of the spectators and the artist.

"We are aware of this concert, we are making the necessary arrangements," said a spokesperson for the Brussels police joined by AFP, refusing to detail the device.

“In Belgium, Catholicism is much less divided than in France.

Everything starts from France, ”said Ignace Berten, when asked about the origin of the threats.

Paris

Paris: Swedish artist canceled at Saint-Eustache church under pressure from fundamentalist Catholics

Society

Nantes: fundamentalist Catholics cancel a concert planned in a church

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