Never has a Western document provoked such panic among the ranks of the Muslim Brotherhood. The most inflamed see it as a “declaration of war” and threaten to take revenge. The most cunning adopt a low profile, fearing a ban on the Brotherhood.
On 23 August 1973, a muezzin called for the first time for prayer from a mosque in Bavaria: the brand-new Islamic centre located on the outskirts of Munich, in the middle of the woods. At that time, West Germany had only five mosques. The Munich one cost five million Marks.
Established in Germany since the late 1950s, the Muslim Brotherhood holds an almost total grip on Islamic places of worship and sociocultural associations. This is done through two branches of the Brotherhood : one is Arab, imported into Germany by a trio of leaders of the Tanzim al-Dawali (Saïd Ramadan, Ali Ghaleb Himmat and Youssef Nada), and the other Turkish, controlled by the Erbakan clan, one of the most influential families in the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Turkey.
Belgium has two main poles linked to the Muslim Bortherhood’s movement, around which a number of local associations and satellite organisations gravitate. But, the European capital is also coveted by several pan-European organisations of the Brotherhood whose main activity is lobbying the European institutions.
Who are the representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood in France? And what are they worth within the hexagonal Islamist nebula? Although there are no precise figures on the number of militants and even fewer on the supporters of the Brotherhood, it is indisputable that it has known a growing presence and influence in France over the past twenty years thanks in particular to the entry it has been able to make into the most prominent associations and organisations representing Muslim communities. And also thanks to the generous funding provided by Qatar.
From the book “Qatar Papers”, written by Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot, readers have mainly retained the financial importance of the projects developed by the gas emirate in Europe through the NGO Qatar Charity. And also the salary of 35,000 euros paid each month to Tariq Ramadan by Qatar Foundation, created by Sheikha Moza, the mother of Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, 38 years old and the Emir of Qatar since 2013.
Switzerland is, without any equivocation, the epicenter of the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Europe. Earth that hosts several waves of refugees belonging to the Brotherhood since the 1950s, it has become the “Mecca” of the European Muslim Brotherhood. Especially, thanks to the discretion of its banks….
Since President Trump’s offensive, threatening to include the Muslim Brotherhood to the list of terrorist entities, Turkish and Qatari secret services have held numerous meetings in Doha to counter the possible consequences of the implementation of these threats.
For a long time, the Islamist branch of the Muslim Brotherhood benefited from kindness of the authorities and extensive legislation on political asylum in European countries.
A double aberration has long dominated in this respect. First of all, there is this striking semantic contradiction called “moderate Islamism”. Because, how can one be “moderate”, or even tolerant, while claiming a divine truth which is impervious to any criticism or examination of consciousness?
Can a Muslim put wine vinegar in his salad? Can a Muslim woman ride a bicycle? Or can she open to the postman when her husband is not at home? The European Council for Fatwa and Research (CEFR), created in March 1997 in Dublin by the Qatari of Egyptian origin Youssef al-Qaradhawi remarks, at least in theory, a good intention. It’s about providing wise advice to Muslims living in Europe so that they can integrate while reconciling Islamic law.
