Photo by Masjid MABA on Unsplash
Switzerland and Germany are the latest European countries to see politicians voicing concerns about the influence and reach of the Muslim Brotherhood. Recent weeks have seen prominent Swiss politican Jacqueline de Quattro demand a France-style investigation into the threat posed by the Muslim Brotherhood.
Jacqueline de Quattro (Les Libéraux-Radicaux) has, along with a broad spectrum of Swiss elected representatives, demanded an in-depth official report, similar to that recently conducted by the French government. De Quattro explains: “The Muslim Brotherhood represents a real threat. If we want to prevent them from establishing themselves in our country as they have in France, we must act quickly. In France, the Muslim Brotherhood has been building a strong network for years aimed at establishing Sharia law. They have infiltrated schools, social and humanitarian circles, as well as the cultural world. Their influence extends to all areas of government. Such a situation must never occur in Switzerland.”
De Quattro’s request includes that Switzerland’s Federal Council document the presence of these networks, as well as their structure, their ideological and social influence, and their compatibility – or incompatibility – with Swiss constitutional principles. For de Quattro and her coalition of Swiss politicians, an objective and in-depth report would provide a valuable basis for the adoption of coherent and proportionate measures to address the Muslim Brotherhood threat.
Over the border in Germany, similar concerns have been expressed. German politician and security expert Mustafa Al-Ammar said in a recent interview that Germany has made a grave mistake by allowing Islamist groups, ideologies, and political parties to grow to what he called an insane degree. Al-Amnar pointed out that Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service, the BND, has concluded that the Muslim Brotherhood is more dangerous than ISIS. In Al-Ammar’s view, the Muslim Brotherhood’s goal in Germany and Europe is to destabilise the state and influence decision-making, and that this is linked to further global goals using Europe as a launchpad.
French concerns over the Muslim Brotherhood have been well-documented this summer, and government action has grown from the publication of a report, to the current drafting of legislation. President Emmanuel Macron ordered the government to draw up proposals to tackle the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood movement and the spread of political Islamism in France. The French presidency made the announcement after Macron chaired a security meeting to examine the in-depth report that said the Muslim Brotherhood poses a threat to national cohesion in France. The report identified the Federation of Muslims of France (FMF) as the Brotherhood’s main actor in France, and said it controls 139 places of worship while being affiliated to a further 68. It runs 280 sporting, educational and charitable associations, and 21 schools with an aim to set up “ecosystems at local level” to “structure the lives of Muslims from birth till death”.
The Muslim Brotherhood’s European ambitions are not thought to be limited to national agendas. There are claims that they are operating at a pan-European level, with Politico reporting recently that the organisation has been attempting to influence European Union institutions through significant lobbying activities. Reporting on the French government’s report, Politico said the Islamist group’s supposed ideological allies sought to push Brussels to criminalise blasphemy and promote a singular vision of religious freedom that clashes with France’s strict model of a secular state that protects both freedom of religion and freedom from religion. The European Parliament and MEPs were particularly targeted, the report said. Among the organisations listed were the Council of European Muslims (CEM) and the Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organisations (FEMYSO). The report claimed that members of the Brotherhood’s inner circle were members of CEM and that FEMYSO was used as a training structure for Muslim Brotherhood officials.
Intelligence services across Europe appear to agree with the evidence contained in the French government report. A report published by George Washington University (GWU) in the United States has detailed the concerns of the security services across seven European countries regarding Muslim Brotherhood operations in Europe. ‘Verbatim: What European Security Services Say About the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe’ was written by Lorenzo Vidino and published by GWU’s Program on Extremism.
The GWU report features testimony from the security services of Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. It concludes that without exception, all European security services adopt a highly negative view of the Muslim Brotherhood across Europe. Of particular concern is the “extensive and sophisticated network linked to the Brotherhood that operates covertly in Europe, both at the national and pan-European level (through its umbrella organization, FIOE/CEM, and spinoffs like FEMYSO)”.
With Swiss and German politicians joining their French counterparts in demanding realism and resolution in the face of the Muslim Brotherhood’s penetration of European society, it is yet to be seen whether reports and investigations will translate into the drafting of meaningful legislation, as appears to be underway in France.
