Growing concerns of Brotherhood’s influence on Muslims in Germany

Asmaa El-Batakoushy

There are growing concerns that the Muslim Brotherhood and the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB), under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will infiltrate the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, the German newspaper Die Welt reported warning of growing influence of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Central Council of Muslims in Germany is a federation of 19 Islamic organizations, which are affiliated with about 300 mosques for Muslims of various nationalities.

Die Welt newspaper revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood seeks to establish a religious state, citing that the Central Council of Muslims cooperates with a number of states, notably North Rhine-Westphalia.

The newspaper said that “this cooperation is unacceptable”, stressing that the states should not cooperate with any group infiltrated by extremists.

Die Welt said that the Central Council of Muslims in Germany penetrated by the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs.

Susanne Schröter, head of Frankfurt Center for Global Islam, said the Muslim Brotherhood has a great influence on the Central Council of Muslims in Germany.

Researcher Sameh Eid, an expert on political Islam, said the Muslim Brotherhood is working abroad to recruit more followers. “The Brotherhood is an extremist group and poses a threat to the social peace in any country,” Eid told THE REFERENCE.

“The Muslim Brotherhood is hiding under the pretext of supporting the interests of Muslims, therefore the group’s religious ideology can spread in Germany,” he said.

The researcher said that the Brotherhood has a political agenda, which contradicts the German constitution,” he said, calling for campaigns for raising awareness organized by intelligence agencies to counter the Brotherhood’s penetration efforts in Germany.