Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups have received almost €80 million in funding from European governments over the past decade, a report has revealed.
The latest Global Influence Operations Report documented €79,551,732 in donations given to groups with reported links to the Muslim Brotherhood by the European Union, the Council of Europe and various national governments since 2004.
“The threats to European civil society posed by the Global Muslim Brotherhood include hindering the integration of minorities, inciting conflict between ethnic groups, fostering hatred and incubating terrorism,” the report said.
“Tracing and identifying funding sources for the Global Muslim Brotherhood is one of the most challenging tasks for analysts. Nevertheless, Gior research into the Muslim Brotherhood has identified a variety of funding streams, one of which is European governments.”
In one incident mentioned in the report, the EU Commission awarded more than €53,000 to a Belgium partner organisation of France's Collective Against Islamophobia in France.
The charity was forced to close before the French government moved to dissolve it in 2020 after it was accused of taking part in a social media campaign against a French history teacher who was murdered for showing his class caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.
The report showed that the charity was linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and its founder’s grandsons, Tariq and Hani Ramadan, and had been described as an “Islamist pharmacy” and an “enemy of the Republic” by France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin.
Islamic Relief was given more than €33.7m by the EU between 2007 to 2020, the EU Financial Transparency database used in the study showed.
The German government has previously stated that there are “significant personnel connections” between Islamic Relief Germany and the Muslim Brotherhood and it has halted its funding.
Last year, Vice President of the European Parliament Nicola Beer wrote to the European Commission and said it was unacceptable for Islamic Relief to receive funding if it has connections to the Muslim Brotherhood.
“European funds must not fall into the hands of organisations that are responsible for anti-Semitism or other hatred,” she said.
The US and the Netherlands have also stopped funding the charity.
Islamic Relief denies it has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
MEP Tomas Zdechovsky has described the funding given to groups linked to the Muslim Brotherhood as “ridiculous”.
“The threats of non-violent Islamism posed by the Muslim Brotherhood and associated organisations are, in an almost punishable manner, overlooked and underestimated in Europe,” he told the Brussels Morning Newspaper.
“The goal of the Muslim Brotherhood is nothing less than to undermine and destroy western democracy. That said, Muslim Brotherhood and associated organisations still receive substantial financial support from public resources and are facilitating a platform to influence public opinion in Europe.
“Islamist study and cultural associations are aided at all levels of governance in Europe. Member states send multimillion[-euro] donations to organisations such as Islamic Relief, which, although involved in charity work, still holds an Islamist agenda and anti-Semitism views.
He added that organisations looking to “destroy our freedom” should not be supported.
“Providing financial support and facilitating the public exposure at the EU and all lower levels of governance to organisations influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood is an absurd but sure quest of Europe to self-destruction,” Mr Zdechovsky said.
“Assigning EU funds to people who want to destroy our freedom is ridiculous. We cannot ignore this danger anymore because the future of liberty in entire Europe is at stake.”
Last October, the report “Network of Networks: The Muslim Brotherhood in Europe” described the EU funding of organisations linked to the group and said that the level of education among legislators and bureaucrats about the Muslim Brotherhood needed to the raised.
MEP Charlie Weimers said the report's findings were “concerning” and he has asked the European Commission to cease funding the groups.
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
If you go
The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at.
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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Game Of Thrones Season Seven: A Bluffers Guide
Want to sound on message about the biggest show on television without actually watching it? Best not to get locked into the labyrinthine tales of revenge and royalty: as Isaac Hempstead Wright put it, all you really need to know from now on is that there’s going to be a huge fight between humans and the armies of undead White Walkers.
The season ended with a dragon captured by the Night King blowing apart the huge wall of ice that separates the human world from its less appealing counterpart. Not that some of the humans in Westeros have been particularly appealing, either.
Anyway, the White Walkers are now free to cause any kind of havoc they wish, and as Liam Cunningham told us: “Westeros may be zombie land after the Night King has finished.” If the various human factions don’t put aside their differences in season 8, we could be looking at The Walking Dead: The Medieval Years.
