European Parliament Votes Overwhelmingly to Confront the Muslim Brotherhood and 'Islamist Entryism'
The non-binding resolution asks the EU to review funding and consider terrorist listings; anti-racism groups call it 'Islamophobic,' and one expert doubts it will change much on its own.
For the first time, the European Parliament has passed a resolution aimed at the Muslim Brotherhood and what it calls Islamist entryism.
The text was sponsored by French member Céline Imart and led by the European People's Party, the center-right group that is the Parliament's largest. Fox News reports the vote was overwhelming. Imart called it "a historic victory because it is a European first," and said Europe had finally broken "a taboo." She thanked negotiators from other groups but excluded the socialists and far left, who she says boycotted the text.
What the resolution says: Islamist entryism targets "democratic institutions, the rule of law, equality between women and men and fundamental freedoms." It says Europe can "no longer fund, consult or legitimize networks that use its language, procedures and funding to weaken its values from within," and that anti-discrimination policy should not be used to shield Islam from criticism. It also says Muslim citizens must be protected from discrimination.
What it asks for: the European Council should assess whether Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups or people belong on the EU terrorist list. It calls for full traceability of EU funding, a Commission review of money given to suspected entities, national and EU-level lists of hate preachers, and tougher scrutiny of foreign funding, especially from actors linked to Qatar or Turkey.
The reaction. Lorenzo Vidino of George Washington University's Program on Extremism says the right voted almost entirely in favor and much of the left against, with some exceptions. Edmund Fitton-Brown of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies called it "where the pushback begins," while noting that turning it into binding law "will be difficult." Vidino himself is "a bit skeptical" it will have a major tangible impact, because such groups are good at camouflage. The pan-European anti-racism network ENAR called the resolution "racist and Islamophobic" and rejected its claims linking ENAR and its members to the Brotherhood.
For American readers, Fox places this after the Trump administration designated the Brotherhood and four of its branches as terrorist organizations. Vidino says Europe's approach is "a bit more nuanced," treating the group mostly as a matter of subversion, since many of its activities may be legal one by one.