European Parliament Tightens Net on Muslim Brotherhood Funding Networks with 381 Votes

The file of the Muslim Brotherhood has turned into an arena of confrontation within the European Parliament, after a decision calling for tighter scrutiny of political Islam networks and their funding triggered a sharp split among MPs, particularly French ones.

While the Parliament approved the decision by a majority of 381 votes against 167, a broader political confrontation emerged behind the vote regarding how to deal with political Islam in Europe, and whether combating extremism requires unified European action, or if the file has become a tool for conflict between the right and the left.

Is every infiltration terrorism?
According to the French magazine "Le Point", the debate came three years after the October 7 attacks, a timing not devoid of political significance.

But French MP Nathalie Loiseau from the Renew group warned against confusing terrorism with what some circles call "infiltration" or gradual work within institutions and society.

Loiseau says that infiltration is "a process operating under cover to push an agenda different from the one initially declared," but she sees it as remaining distinct from terrorism, for which Europe already possesses tools such as Europol and Eurojust.

According to her position, one cannot consider every association demanding, for example, separate swimming times for women and men as a terrorist project merely because it adopts a conservative or religious discourse.

As for French MP Céline Imart from the Republicans party within the European People's Party group, she defends the decision as directed at political Islam rather than the Islamic religion or Muslims.

She says the text clarifies these boundaries "very clearly" since its introduction, adding that the European Parliament is called upon for the first time to look directly at the influence of Brotherhood networks and their mechanisms of operation.

Moving organizations and hard-to-track funding
The decision focuses on what supporters consider the ability of some networks to change their names and reshape themselves to avoid scrutiny.

"Le Point" notes that the Federation of Islamic Organizations in France became known as "Muslims of France" in 2017, while the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe renamed itself "Council of European Muslims" in 2020.

Also, the name of a German organization changed from IGD to DMG in 2018.

These organizations deny, according to the report, the links attributed to them with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Therefore, mere similarity in names or previous relationships is not legally sufficient to prove affiliation with a terrorist organization, a point that makes the file highly sensitive within European institutions.

The decision asks the Commission to monitor European funds "to the end of the chain," including contractors, intermediaries, and entities that may act as fronts.

Imart relies on figures from the European Court of Auditors stating that the Union paid €7.4 billion to more than 12,000 NGOs between 2021 and 2023, without possessing a comprehensive and reliable picture of where all the money went.

Loiseau and Imart agree on the necessity of improving funding tracking, especially after the controversy over European grants to educational bodies and youth organizations.

Left warns of Islamophobia
The Left, Socialist, and Green groups refused to submit a competing draft resolution.

French MP Chloé Ridel from the Socialist Party said the right allied with its friends in the far-right to impose an "Islamophobic" discourse.

She questioned why there was no condemnation of what she described as the infiltration of fundamentalist Catholic anti-abortion groups or the influence of US President Donald Trump within political movements.

And the head of the European Conservatives and Reformists group, Nicola Procaccini, responded that Islamic fundamentalism and the Christian Church do not represent the same problem, relying on the idea that Europe was historically formed under the influence of Christianity, Greek and Roman law, and culture.

This dispute reveals that the disagreement is not only about procedures, but about defining European identity itself.

French report extends battle to Brussels
Supporters of the decision rely on a French report released in May 2025 on "Muslim Brothers and Political Islam in France".

The report spoke of associative and municipal activity "from below", referring to 139 places of worship linked to the current and 68 close to it, 280 associations, and 21 educational institutions comprising around 4,200 students.

The report dedicates a section to Europe, considering that Brussels has become an important hub for the group's networks due to its proximity to EU institutions.

But it distinguishes, according to the French article, between direct organizational links and mere political or intellectual convergence, a distinction essential to avoid turning suspicions into judgments.

In the end, the decision does not place the Muslim Brotherhood on the terror list, but it transfers the battle from national capitals to the heart of the European Parliament.

While the right sees it as a necessary step to protect institutions and prevent exploitation of public funding, the left fears it will turn into a tool to generalize suspicion against Muslims and Islamic associations.