 This stopped in 1974 when all foreign manual labour was banned from entry into the country and, in the same year, Islam was officially recognised as a religion in Belgium.According to a 2006 opinion poll, 61% of the Belgian population thought tensions between Muslims and other communities would increase in the future.In 2011, Belgian authorities instituted a ban on face-covering attire in public, which meant the wearing of the niqāb and burqa were considered incompatible with Belgian society.