Study: The Muslim Brotherhood Across Europe

In February 2026, the Research Department of Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism released a significant report titled ‘The Muslim Brotherhood Across Europe’. This document, the first in a planned series, maps the ideological, organizational, and operational networks of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) on the continent. Read the extended summary:

Drawing on intelligence assessments, court records, financial filings, media reports, and insider analyses, the whitepaper argues that the MB poses a systemic, long-term threat to European democracies, Jewish communities, and Israel’s legitimacy.

It frames the MB not as a benign civil-society actor but as an anti-democratic movement pursuing gradual Islamization (“legalistic Islamism”) behind a moderate façade.The report opens with an executive summary rooted in Israel’s 2017 Ministerial Committee decision (No. B/188) on countering delegitimization and antisemitism. It identifies six core risk areas:

1. Direct threats to Jewish safety through incitement, campus violence, and demonstrations.
2. Indirect financial and logistical support for Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad via charitable umbrellas.
3. Normalization of antisemitic discourse in sermons, fatwas, and digital platforms.
4. Systematic campaigns to delegitimize Israel through BDS-style advocacy and political lobbying.
5. Covert infiltration of advisory bodies, schools, and youth organizations.
6. The need for ongoing, systemic mapping of these infrastructures.

Historical and Ideological FoundationsFounded in Egypt in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna, the MB seeks a society governed by its interpretation of Sharia. The movement advocates gradual, multi-generational Islamization in both Muslim-majority countries and the West.

Several Arab states (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Jordan) have designated it a terrorist organization. In Europe, the MB arrived with mid-20th-century migrants and students fleeing persecution. By the 1970s, activists recognized European governments’ search for “representative” Muslim partners and began building institutions that mirrored Middle Eastern models but adapted to democratic legality.

The whitepaper stresses the movement’s dual messaging: public moderation (“conservatism without isolation”) paired with internal commitment to Sharia supremacy, rejection of liberal democracy, and ultimate transformation of European societies.

It operates as a “family” of autonomous national chapters bound by ideology, personal ties, and pan-European coordination bodies rather than strict hierarchical command.

Pan-European Architecture and Leadership Clique

The report describes a sophisticated federative structure. At its apex sits a small, closed “upper echelon” of veteran activists and their families who intermarry and hold interlocking leadership roles across organizations. Key coordinating bodies established in the late 1980s–1990s include:

• Council of European Muslims (CEM, formerly FIOE – Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe, founded 1989, rebranded 2020): The strategic hub coordinating national umbrellas (e.g., France’s UOIF, Germany’s IGD). Headquarters in Brussels; projects moderate image while advancing long-term Islamist goals. Leadership includes figures such as Ahmad al-Rawi, Chakib Ben Makhlouf, and Abdallah Ben Mansour.
• European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR, 1997): Provides religious guidance for Muslims in minority contexts (“fiqh al-aqalliyyat”). Dominated by MB scholars (former president Yusuf al-Qaradawi); issues rulings on hijab, apostasy, homosexuality, and support for “resistance” (Hamas). Its mobile app was removed from stores over antisemitic content.
• Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organizations (FEMYSO, 1996): The youth wing with 32 member groups across 22 countries. Headquarters in Brussels; enjoys consultative status with the Council of Europe and partnerships with the European Students’ Union and Open Society Foundations. Leadership features strong familial MB ties (e.g., daughters of Rachid Ghannouchi and other prominent figures). Activities include EU-funded campaigns on “Islamophobia,” hijab advocacy, and leadership training that critics say cultivates grievance and ideological loyalty. Funding mix: membership fees, EU/Council of Europe grants, Turkish and Qatari sources, crowdfunding.
• The Europe Trust (late 1990s): The financial engine. Registered in the UK, with subsidiaries in the Netherlands and Belgium. Managed by MB veterans (al-Rawi, Fouad Alaoui, Ayman Ali, Ibrahim el-Zayat, Ahmed Jaballah). Invests primarily in real estate (mosques, student housing, community centers) across Europe; profits fund affiliated projects. Statutes ensure assets revert to the Trust upon dissolution of subsidiaries, creating a closed financial circuit.
• European Institute of Human Sciences (IESH, 1990, Château-Chinon, France): Trains “European imams.” Multi-campus network (France, UK, Germany, Finland). Curriculum blends classical Sharia with Western disciplines but, per French intelligence (2025 inspections), includes materials promoting jihad, antisemitism, and gender norms incompatible with European values. Thousands of graduates now serve in mosques, prisons, and armies. Funding historically from Gulf states, now heavily Qatar/Turkey.

Additional entities analyzed include the Union of Good (Hamas fundraising umbrella chaired by al-Qaradawi, designated terrorist by US/Israel), Interpal (UK charity repeatedly scrutinized for Hamas links; revenue collapsed 98 % after sanctions but pivoted to advocacy), the Al-Aqsa Foundation (banned in Germany, Netherlands, EU for Hamas financing; leadership included convicted funders), and Islamic Relief Worldwide (major humanitarian NGO with historical MB leadership ties; Israeli/UAE designations for Hamas support; Western government funding slashed but offset by UN and public donations reaching USD 286 million globally in 2022).

Identification Criteria and National Variations

The whitepaper lists practical indicators for affiliation: governance by known MB activists, participation in CEM/FIOE structures, speaker invitations, literature promotion, and familial/personal networks. National chapters enjoy operational autonomy but align on core ideology and strategy.

Presence is strongest in France, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Scandinavia, and Spain. Funding has shifted from broad Gulf support pre-2012 to Qatar and Turkey, supplemented by European real estate, local zakat, and occasional EU grants.

Threat Assessment and Policy Implications

The report repeatedly emphasizes that the MB’s “soft” methods—legal registration, interfaith dialogue, youth engagement, humanitarian branding—mask long-term goals incompatible with liberal democracy. Specific dangers to Europe include social fragmentation, radicalization pipelines (especially via FEMYSO and IESH), and erosion of integration.

For Jewish communities: heightened antisemitic incidents, campus hostility, and normalization of tropes linking Israel with “Zionist aggression.”

For Israel: coordinated international delegitimization, boycott campaigns, and indirect resourcing of Hamas.

The document notes European policy ambivalence—dialogue with MB-linked bodies alongside security-service warnings—and the absence of a uniform EU classification framework. It highlights successes (German ban on Al-Aqsa, asset freezes) but also vulnerabilities (high evidentiary thresholds in courts, ability of networks to rebrand and reroute funds).

Conclusion of the Whitepaper

The Ministry positions the report as the start of systematic documentation and response. It urges heightened awareness, consistent monitoring, restrictions on opaque funding and institutional infiltration, and international coordination to protect democratic values and Jewish communities.

While not calling for outright bans (most entities operate legally), it advocates exposing dual discourse, scrutinizing EU grants, and treating the MB network as a coherent ideological threat rather than isolated charities or youth groups.

At roughly 100 pages with extensive footnotes, organizational charts (including an interactive network map), and case studies, The Muslim Brotherhood Across Europe offers one of the most detailed public mappings of the movement’s continental footprint.

The report compiles a formidable body of open-source evidence on leadership overlaps, funding flows, doctrinal consistency, and operational patterns. For policymakers, researchers, and concerned citizens, it provides a sobering reference point in debates over political Islam, integration, antisemitism, and counter-terrorism financing in 21st-century Europe.

Download > Report on Muslim Brotherhood in Europe

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