Despite ban calls, Qaradawi’s app continues to spread poison over internet

Asmaa Al-Batakoushi

Apple has received calls to remove an app on its platform created by a group with links to the Muslim Brotherhood, over concerns it is used to promote terrorism, foster hate and sow discord.

The Euro Fatwa app was launched in April 2019 at the annual La Foire Musulmane, or Muslim Fair, in Paris, which was attended by tens of thousands of people.

It was introduced by Khaled Hanafy, a Cairo-born theologian and chairman of the Imams and Scholars’ Council in Germany.

The app was created by the European Council for Fatwa and Research, a Dublin private foundation set up by Yusuf Al Qaradawi, spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Al-Qaradawi is an Egyptian Islamic theologian based in Doha, Qatar, and chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars.

He was put on the terror list announced by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain. The countries have collectively designated 59 individuals and 12 institutions that have financed terrorist organizations and received support from Qatar.

Al-Qaradawi is known for being a caller and an avid advocate of suicide bombings and martyrdom.

Euro Fatwa has been in the top 100 downloads in the Apple store in a third of European countries since its launch, despite international calls for it to be banned.

Touted as a guide to help Muslims adhere to Islam, critics including Germany’s security service, say the app is a radicalization tool.

It contains an introduction by Al Qaradawi, now 93, in which he makes derogatory references to Jews while speaking about historic fatwas.

It also claims European laws do not have to be obeyed if they contradict Islamic rules.

“While we can’t comment on individual apps, we’ll take swift action against any that break our policies once we’ve been made aware of them, including those that contain hate speech,” Google said.

But a month after The National Newspaper informed Apple that the app contains hate speech, it is still accessible from the App Store.

“We are reviewing Euro Fatwa again for possible violations of our guidelines and, if we find content that violates our guidelines and is harmful to users, we will notify the developer and may remove it from the store,” an Apple spokesman said.

French senator and member of the Gulf-French Friendship Committee Nathalie Goulet called the app “poisonous” on Twitter and called for it to be banned.

Retail outlets such as Google Play and Apple’s App Store can take it off the market but Apple continues to promote it.

The UK’s Home Office has advised technology companies that promote hate material that they will face action.

“No social media platform should allow themselves to be used to spread extremist propaganda,” a spokesman said in response to complaints about the app.

“We continue to work with our international partners and tech companies to tackle online terrorist and extremist propaganda, but we are clear they must go further and faster.

“That is why we are introducing a statutory duty of care to make companies take responsibility for the safety of their users, and an independent regulator to take enforcement action where they fail to do so.”