Islamic Relief: Brotherhood den hiding birds of terrorism migrating to Europe

Mahmoud al-Batakoushi

Islamic Relief in Europe plays a hidden role in spreading violence and extremism within the continent, as it contains the birds of darkness and the advocates of sedition and terrorism, led by the terrorist Brotherhood.

Asylum file

The relief organization interferes with the local authorities in a number of European countries in the file of asylum and immigration. In France, for example, the authorities refer groups of immigrants to it to be received without any preconditions. It is also allowed to organize demonstrations and exhibitions to inform citizens of its activities and urge them to contribute to its funding.

Support for terrorism

Security reports indicated that senior employees of Islamic Relief regularly publish opinions on social media showing their support for the Palestinian Hamas movement and the terrorist Brotherhood group, which prompted some banks to sever their relationship with the organization, such as HSBC, due to fears of terrorism financing. This came after the suspicious activities of the German branch, which listed the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) as an implementation partner for an aid project inside Syria, while the latter was involved in working and coordinating with the Al-Shabaab group in Somalia. As a result, IHH’s accounts were frozen. It was also involved in smuggling weapons to the terrorist Brotherhood.

Britain was the first station of the organization, as it was established in 1984 by Hany El-Banna and a group of graduate students. After that, it opened branches in many countries.

Millions in funding

Islamic Relief became the first specialized Islamic charitable organization to obtain funding from the British government for projects in Africa in 1994, and it is estimated that the organization collects from its annual Ramadan campaign in Britain alone more than £10 million annually. Its resources are estimated at about £570 million, which includes donations from the United Nations, Britain and the European Union, and it gets its funding from a combination of individual and business donations, as well as from the government.

Brotherhood penetration

In a recent report, the Middle East Forum warned of Islamic Relief’s relationship with the Brotherhood and its promotion of preachers who incite hatred against both moderate Muslims and non-Muslims.

Intelligence reports also revealed close links between Islamic Relief in Europe and the terrorist Brotherhood, in addition to its association with organizations related to the financing of terrorism and extremism, such as Qatar Charity. This prompted a number of European governments, led by Germany, to dry up the organization’s sources of funding and stop funding its activities. Berlin also conducted an investigation of Ibrahim El-Zayat, the organization’s director, for his close ties to the Brotherhood. Zayat was the principal and mastermind of the Brotherhood’s activities in Germany, and he sponsored the annual meeting of the Islamic Community of Germany and the Muslim Youth Organization meetings of the Brotherhood in Germany.

The German authorities revealed that Islamic Relief in Germany is linked to the Brotherhood, and this information came in an official response to a parliamentary briefing request submitted by the opposition Free Democratic Party (FDP). The response stated that the aforementioned organization has important personal links with the terrorist group and organizations close to it.

European intelligence reports also accused the relief organization and its branches in European capitals of financing and supporting extremist groups, and Islamic Relief was also involved in financing training camps for al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and working and coordinating with the Somali Al-Shabaab group.

In a study of Sweden’s Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), which acts as intelligence on the ground, it confirmed that the Brotherhood seeks to penetrate the Islamic presence in the continent to spread the concepts of the group and acquire new members, under the guise of Islamic Relief.

The study called for the necessity of freezing the support and funding of the organization, which is a Trojan horse for the Brotherhood to infiltrate Europe, and it uses the funds of donations and grants to launch terrorist acts. The biggest evidence of this is that of the most prominent leaders of the organization are tied to the Brotherhood. Heshmat Khalifa, a member of the Board of Trustees of Islamic Relief who holds British citizenship and also served as director of Islamic Relief in Australia and director of its branches in Germany and South Africa, and Ahmed al-Rawi, former president of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe and head of the Islamic League in Britain, are both considered part of the Brotherhood in Europe. Essam El-Haddad, the founding partner of the organization, was a senior Brotherhood official and leader, and Adnan Abdul Rahman Saif, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Muath Trust, a Yemeni charitable organization based in the United Kingdom, has ties to the Brotherhood.