Outrage over French report on Muslim Brotherhood: 'New low in Islamophobia' France is sounding the alarm about the extreme influence of the radical Muslim Brotherhood in education, associations and on social media. This is stated in a confidential government report, which is also causing a stir internationally.
Bob van Huët 24-05-25, 11:01 Last update: 24-05-25, 12:07 The report was discussed Wednesday at a meeting of France’s Defense and National Security Council at the Élysée Palace. The venue underscores the gravity of the situation: Typically, the council discusses geopolitical crises or military threats there — not domestic religious networks.
The authors, a former ambassador and a prefect, describe how the Muslim Brotherhood is gradually gaining influence through schools, universities, sports clubs and social media. The organization, which has existed for almost a century, aims to establish an Islamic empire and caliphate based on Sharia, Islamic law.
The report says the Muslim Brotherhood is less active in the Middle East and Africa today, but is growing in Turkey, the United States and Europe, thanks in part to funding from Qatar and Kuwait.
Four hundred Muslim brothers The authors stress that it is not their intention to stigmatize Islam in general, but that it is dangerous to deny or minimize the role of extremist networks. In France, four hundred Muslim Brotherhoods are currently said to spread the ideology through some two hundred institutions affiliated with the organization.
Their networks are active in several European countries, with Belgium being mentioned as a crossroads. The influence of the brotherhood is also growing in Germany, Austria and Eastern Europe.
Criticisms and warnings However, criticism is being voiced. Corinne Torrekens, a political scientist at the ULB university in Brussels, warns in the Flemish newspaper De Standaard against a simplistic reading, in which every Islamic organisation is suspect in advance, even when they are openly loyal to democratic values.
The timing of the publication is politically charged in France at least. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau — newly elected party leader of the conservative Les Républicains — wants to emphasize his hard line against Islamism.
President Macron has also requested additional proposals for a next Defense Council in June. Possible measures are already under discussion, such as the proposal by former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal (Renaissance) to ban girls under 15 from wearing a headscarf in public spaces.
The reactions are not long in coming. The French Muslim Federation speaks of 'dangerous generalizations' of how millions of conservative Muslims think and how a handful of extremists experience the faith.
Concerns about Islamophobia Several organizations and public figures are concerned about the rise of Islamophobia in France. For example, commemorations were recently held in many places for Aboubakar Cissé, a young man who was killed on April 25 in a mosque in the Gard region.
The perpetrator, Olivier H., a French citizen of Bosnian origin, stabbed Cissé dozens of times. He filmed the violence with his mobile phone and shouted anti-Islamic slogans. The brutal attack caused great indignation within the French Muslim community.
'New low in Islamophobia' Moderate politicians fear that the report will not help to narrow the gap with French Muslims. Left-wing politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon speaks on X of 'a new low in Islamophobia', while Jordan Bardella (Rassemblement National, the party of the radical right Marine Le Pen) calls for a total ban on the Muslim Brotherhood.
Meanwhile, French experts are questioning the assessment of the danger. They say the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood is exaggerated, while the real ideological dissemination nowadays takes place mainly through online preachers and social media, outside the direct reach of formal organizations.
