Belgium’s historic, multicultural port city of Antwerp is the site of a bitter political contest involving the Flemish nationalist Vlaams Blok and the militant Arab European League supported by young people of Moroccan descent – with the city’s ancient Jewish community targeted by both. As European elections approach, Nick Ryan reports from Dyab Abou Jahjah’s backyard.

The far-right Vlaams Blok gained ground in Belgium’s May 2003 elections on an anti-immigrant, nationalist platform. The journalist Nick Ryan spent time there with suits and skinheads. This extract from his book ‘Homeland’ tells the gripping story of their attempts to “save their identity” from “globalisation and mongrelisation” – a battle fought on the streets, in pubs and in the parliament.