Report reveals Qatari funding for Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups across Europe

The network provides indirect support to terrorist organizations, including Hamas.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism has released research finding that Qatar has provided extensive financial support to European and international organizations affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, while warning that the funding contributes to anti-Israel delegitimization efforts and antisemitism.

According to the ministry, millions of dollars have been transferred to organizations operating across Europe, including the European Institute of Human Sciences (IESH) and the youth organization FEMYSO.

The ministry said Qatar has provided donations to IESH since 2007 and to FEMYSO since 2016.

The research also examined organizations linked to the Muslim Brotherhood that are active in Italy.

According to the ministry, several groups publicly present themselves as apolitical organizations while maintaining ties to the movement and promoting narratives hostile to Israel.

The report described what it called a broad network of organizations connected directly or indirectly to the Muslim Brotherhood across multiple European countries.

The ministry said affiliated groups operate in Sweden, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland and other countries.

According to the findings, these organizations play a role in financing the Islamist movement and maintain both direct and indirect links to terrorist organizations, with particular emphasis on Hamas.

The ministry said some of the organizations function as charities, educational institutions or civic bodies while serving as channels for extremist activity.

It further found that the network provides indirect support to terrorist organizations, including Hamas.

Intelligence agencies and governments in Western Europe are aware of what the ministry characterized as the threat posed by the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliated organizations.

Security services across Europe regard the network as fundamentally anti-democratic and view it as seeking to reshape political and social systems.

Those assessments are shared by security agencies in a number of European countries where the organizations maintain a presence.

Despite those concerns, the ministry said several Western European governments continue to maintain dialogue and cooperation with organizations linked to the movement.

The research forms part of the ministry’s broader efforts to track international networks that it says contribute to antisemitism, anti-Israel activity and support for Islamist organizations operating throughout Europe.