After years of campaigning from the Right, the European Parliament finally approved a resolution to call on the Commission to end funding for Islamist organizations and campaigns that glorify the hijab, the Swedish MEP Charlie Weimers (ECR) tweeted on Wednesday, May 10th.
“We have done our part and got the majority in the European Parliament,” Weimers wrote, adding that “it is time for the government to use the Swedish presidency to bring the issue to fruition,” referring to Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer’s earlier promise to deliver “concrete results.”
The campaign for ending EU funds for Islamist organizations—originally at the initiative of the Sweden Democrats (SD)—has been ongoing since 2019. At first, the Commission was in complete denial of any such funds being disbursed, calling for the MEPs from the SD to prove their allegations.
And that they did. Through the European Conservative and Reformist (ECR) group, the SD commissioned a study by two independent experts on security and extremism, which they published in 2021 under the title The Muslim Brotherhood in Europe.
The study pays special attention to assessing the extent of the “damage [Muslim Brotherhood]-related organizations have been causing to security and social cohesion,” in many ways through gaining the trust of state institutions and acting as “privileged interlocutors and representatives of the local Muslim communities,” the paper reads.
The European Commission has fallen into the same trap, disbursing large amounts of money to finance MB organizations or empowering them and their members in different ways.
With specific regard to Islamic Relief, EU institutions have funded it to the tune of over 40 million Euros.
Incidentally, Islamic Relief, which was directly established by the Muslim Brotherhood and is one of the largest Muslim charities in the world, is also recognized as a terrorist organization—or at least as “actively aiding one”—by a number of countries, including the U.S., Israel, and Switzerland.
With proof in hand, the conservative MEPs doubled down on their campaign, turning toward the Council—and, specifically, its French presidency—calling it to put pressure on the Commission.
As a result, the EU Council did adopt a resolution toward the very end of the French term in June 2022, that dealt with broader counter-terrorism recommendations but also included several points to underline the
importance of combating incitement to hatred and violence and intolerance and, with particular reference to radicalization, of addressing the ideologies underlying terrorism and violent extremism as well as foreign influence on civil and religious organizations through non-transparent funding.
As a response, the Commission then claimed it took the issue very seriously, although no reforms were proposed in the end. Nonetheless, both Czech and Swedish Council presidencies continued to work on the issue, keeping pressure on the Commission, and—as it seems—the European Parliament as well.
Although Wednesday’s EP resolution is not the final episode of the saga, it is still an important step, especially since MEPs from all parliamentary groups supported the initiative. With both the Council and the Parliament on the same page, the Commission will not be able to ignore the calls for too long, or at least that’s what the conservatives hope for.
Of course, the Sweden Democrats and the ECR are not the only ones to raise awareness of Islamist activity financed by European tax-payer money. Earlier this year, the Israeli watchdog NGO Monitor published an extensive report, detailing “overwhelming evidence” of ties between seven EU-funded local NGOs and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). While many EU countries recognized these warnings and cut ties with said NGOs, the Commission did not answer, being reticent—as always—to admit previous shortcomings.
