Tracking the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) affiliates in Europe has always been a difficult task. Their affiliation is rarely clear-cut and visible for all to see; it is hidden beneath layers of charity work and NGO activity, and often veiled under solidarity with the Palestinian people, a catchy phrase that never fails to capture the minds, hearts—and cheque books—of donors across Muslim Europe.
Some of those figures are easy to identify, like Sheikh Abdul-Aziz al-Khodri, a popular Azherite mosque preacher in Berlin. He has a channel on YouTube and an official page on Facebook, reaching millions in both Arabic and German. We also have Sheikh Khodr Abdul Moti, another Facebook celebrity who uploads his sermons, responds to questions from believers, and serves as coordinator of the European Council of Imams.[1]
Both Khodri and Moti are members of the Egyptian, that is to say the mother, branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, active with the Central Council of Muslims in Germany. In 2012, Abdul Moti was given the high honor of being named an agent (wakil) by the Brotherhood’s Mohammad Morsi: Moti supervised the ballots in Germany among Egyptians in the presidential election that year that led to Morsi’s victory.[2] Moti controls a wide and impressive network within the German Muslim community, spread across 511 mosques, 1,091 mosque classes, and thirty active NGOs.[3] In 2016, Moti famously converted a prominent German journalist, Martin Legeune, to Islam on the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr, an event that was much publicized in MB media outlets as a way to prove Sheikh Moti’s influence, even among non-believers.[4]
The Lebanon Connection
Khodri and Moti are turbaned clerics, however, preaching from mosque pulpits. They don’t even try to conceal their political affiliations and objectives. It gets more complicated when dealing with figures like Khaled al-Daher, who wears a suit and tie, appears regularly on secular television channels, and dabbles with Westernized figures like Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, even serving briefly as a member of his Future Movement.[5] But beneath that façade, Daher is an Islamist to the bone, affiliated with the Islamic Group (al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya), a Lebanese offshoot of the Egyptian MB. According to his own testimony, he joined the group in 1975, eleven years after its establishment in Lebanon.[6] Daher rose up the hierarchical ladder, becoming a member of its political bureau and of its Shura Council.
He came to parliament on its ticket in 1996, dubbed as independent in 2000 (an election that he did not win), and returned to power as a Hariri protégé in 2009.[7] Daher was active within Palestinian camps in Lebanon, through which, he sent money to Muslim charity groups in Europe. In the pre-9/11 era, that wasn’t too difficult, especially for an Arab parliamentarian well-connected both regionally and internationally. Although currently out of office, Daher remains active in Lebanese politics and is reportedly trying to establish a Turkish foothold in the Lebanese north, where Sunni militancy is strongest in the country—the perfect environment for Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan to establish yet another fiefdom in the Middle East.
More Well-Concealed Figures
The trace becomes even more difficult with figures like Mohammad Mishinch, head of the Turkish Association for Solidarity with Palestine, who is neither a turbaned cleric like Moti, nor a preacher like Khodri, nor even a politician like Daher. He is more of a lobbyist and fund-raiser. Born in Iraq in 1972, Mishinch is also not based in Europe but is active in channeling money from figures like Moti and Khodri to Hamas in Gaza. Over the past two weeks Mishinch has been vocally supportive of the upcoming Palestinian parliamentary elections, called for by Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas last January. Mishinch will likely be playing a more active role in raising funds and channeling them to the leadership of Hamas, which is planning to run for office when a date is set, hoping to outflank its long-time opponents in Fateh.
As for the big names, they are Majed al-Zeer, Adel Abdullah, and Amin Abu Rashed, three heavyweights in Europe who call the shots.
Majed al-Zeer
Majed al-Zeer is the public face of the Palestinian Islamic street in London, where he serves as president of the Palestinian Return Center (PRC), a high-profile organization founded in 1988. On paper he regularly briefs British MPs on Palestinian affairs, speaks out against Israeli actions, and hosts events on the “right of return”.
There is nothing illegal about his activities, and thus, his organization was eligible for consultative status at the United Nations, a status that it had struggled for since 2011 and finally obtained in 2015.[8] One year later, al-Zeer was voted president of the Palestinians in Europe Foundation through elections held in Vienna. He received the full backing of 29 Palestinian organizations spread across Muslim, adding to his prestige and influence.[9]
Born in Bethlehem in December 1962, Zeer fled Palestine with his family to Jordan during the 1967 war. He obtained Jordanian nationality, which he still holds, in addition to his British one, which he got after moving to the UK in the 1990s.[10] In October 2013, he was denied entry in Jordan, reportedly due to his affiliation with Hamas, where he was planning to attend a conference on the right of return and meet with Prime Minister Abdullah Ansour.[11] His supporters claim that the Jordanian ban was due to a security tip from Israel, which has him on its “wanted” list.
In December 2010, the Israeli Defense Ministry declared Zeer’s organization “illegal” due to its affiliation to Hamas.[12] Israel said that PRC was “involved in initiating and organizing radical and violent activity against Israel,” adding that Zeer was in contact with Hamas leaders based at the time in Damascus and Gaza.[13] That was no secret, however, especially after a photo of Zeer appeared online, showing him at a 2008 conference in Damascus with Khaled Meshaal, then-head of Hamas Political Bureau.
The Israeli terrorism designation was also based on a 2009 hosting at PRC of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh via video conference.[14] Zeer has repeatedly denied the charges of Hamas affiliation, justifying the decision to host Haniyeh by saying that he was the prime minister of Palestine—or at least part of Palestine, Hamas-ruled Gaza. When Haniyeh telephoned to congratulate him on his UN status in 2015, Zeer’s office came out with a statement, denying that such a phone call ever happened.[15]
Tel Aviv then made a terrorist claim against Zeer with World-Check, a financial intelligence service owned by Thompson Reuters, prompting HSBC to close his bank accounts and those of PRC.[16] He swiftly moved the account to Metro Bank, before it too was shut down due to the terrorist designation. Zeer took Thompson Reuters to court, won the case, and had his name removed in January 2019.[17] He was also paid $13,000 in damages plus legal fees.[18]
Adel Abdullah
Similar accusations of terrorism have been made against the Palestinian Islamic Association in Vienna and its head, Adel Abdullah who is also secretary general of the Palestinians of Europe Conference. They too were taken to court for what was considered as harboring a terrorist agenda, only to be acquitted by the Austrian justice in 2008. Abdullah, also considered a Hamas affiliate, was even granted an audience with Austrian President Heinz Fischer.[19] The photo of him and Fischer went viral on Palestinian social media networks, testimony, it seemed at the time, to his “innocence” from any connection to Hamas.
In fact, so exonerated did Abdullah seem that, in January 2009, his organization co-hosted an event with the Austrian Ministry of Justice, supporting Palestinians in Gaza, who happened to be living under Hamas rule.[20] One year later he was hosted at a United Nations convention in Vienna discussing Palestinian civil society, and then he organized a conference in Berlin in support of Palestinians stuck at the Yarmouk Camp of Syria. Many of them were civilians but others were militants affiliated to Hamas, armed by Qatar and Turkey to take down the Syrian Army in 2011. Adel Abdullah attended the Vienna event as a member of the Return Center in London and not in his capacity as leader of the Vienna-based group.[21]
Nine years later, however, Abdullah showed up in Gaza, side-by-side with Ismail Haniyeh, liquidating whatever deniability he had gained from the Austrian justice system.
Amin Abu Rashid
Born in 1966, Abu Rashid holds dual Palestinian and Dutch nationality and rose to fame for his activism in the freedom flotilla movement that aimed at breaking the siege of Gaza back in 2011, a brainchild of Erdogan’s. That campaign was coordinated fully with the leadership of Hamas, said Israeli news reports. Abu Rashid arranged for financing the trip and the purchase of the flotilla, in addition to training with its crew in Greece.[22] Israeli Public Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein described him as a “Hamas member” who is known for “fundraising money for Hamas terror operations”.[23] He was a member of the Al-Aqsa Foundation in Rotterdam who later became secretary-general of the Popular Forum in the Netherlands.
Conclusion
Identifying members and affiliates of the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe is a granular task because of the great lengths the movement goes to in concealing its activities. It is also a task in which the legal systems of Europe have proven themselves inadequate for good reasons and bad related to the political culture of liberal states.
European Eye on Radicalization aims to publish a diversity of perspectives and as such does not endorse the opinions expressed by contributors. The views expressed in this article represent the author alone.
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References
[1] Mubarak, Mohammad. “Al-Alman Yakhsoun al-Ikhwan,” Akhbar al-Khaleej: http://akhbar-alkhaleej.com/news/article/1106618
[2] Sheikh, Walid. “Almaniya: Abu al-Futouh 39.3% min aswat al-nakhibeen, Sabahi 29%, Morsi 12%,” Al-Masri al-Yawm (May 18, 2012): https://www.almasryalyoum.com/news/details/179545
[3] “Al-Ikhwan Tataghalgal fi Almaniya” al-Bawaba News (December 26, 2017): https://www.albawabhnews.com/2866261
[4] “Prominent German journalist Martin Legeune converts to Islam,” Muslim Mirror (July 7, 2016): http://muslimmirror.com/eng/video-prominent-german-journalist-martin-lejeune-converts-to-islam-on-eid-ui-fitr/
[5] Mahrouseh, Nadine. “Awdet al-Jamaa al-Islamiya” al-Modon (August 8, 2015): https://www.almodon.com/politics/2015/8/8/%d8%b9%d9%88%d8%af%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ac%d9%85%d8%a7%d8%b9%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a5%d8%b3%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%85%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d9%84%d8%b3%d9%86%d8%a7-%d8%aa%d8%ad%d8%aa-%d8%b9%d8%a8%d8%a7%d8%a1%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%b3%d8%aa%d9%82%d8%a8%d9%84
[6] Qassem Agha, Nada. “Al-Naib Khaled al-Daher: Hazihi Sirat al-Bidayat,” Attamaddoun newspaper (April 4, 2018): https://www.attamaddon.com/2018/04/article-2903.html
[7] “Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya fi Lubnan,” Al-Jazeera Studies Center (April 12, 2017): https://studies.aljazeera.net/ar/bookrevision/2017/04/1975-2000-170412105419784.html
[8] “Press Statement: PRC ECOSOC NGO Consultative status is a recognition of Palestinian Refugees Right of Return” Palestinian Return Center (July 21, 2015): https://prc.org.uk/en/post/3435/press-statment-prc-ecosoc-ngo-consultative-status-is-a-%20%20recognition-of-palestinian-refugees-right-of-return
[9] “Majed al-Zeer raisan li Moutamar Filastiniye Auroba,” Al-Majd (20 October 2016): shorturl.at/jkGLO
[10] Al-Ayasra, Omar. “Majed al-Zeer: Man Yamlok hak Man’ouh,” Jo 24 (November 13, 2013): https://jo24.net/article/51201
[11] “Al-Amn yamna’ Majez al-Zeer min dukhoul al-Urdun,” Al-Madina al-Ikhbariya (October 9, 2013): shorturl.at/rJLN96
[12] Oborne, Peter. “Thompson Reuters was wrong to designate the Palestinian Return Center as a terrorist,” Middle East Eye (5 March 2018): https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/thomson-reuters-world-check-was-wrong-designate-palestinian-return-centre-terrorist
[13] European Hamas Affiliate Deemed Illegal by Minister of Defense,” Israeli Defense Forces (December 27, 2010): https://web.archive.org/web/20110328124945/http:/dover.idf.il/IDF/English/News/today/10/12/2703.htm
[14] Oborne, Peter. “Thompson Reuters was wrong to designate the Palestinian Return Center as a terrorist,” Middle East Eye (5 March 2018): https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/thomson-reuters-world-check-was-wrong-designate-palestinian-return-centre-terrorist
[15] Charbonneau, Louis. “Palestinian NGO denies Hamas ties, threatens Israel with legal action,” Reuters (June 3, 2015): https://www.reuters.com/article/israel-palestinians-group-un/palestinian-ngo-denies-hamas-ties-threatens-israel-with-legal-action-idINKBN0OI29P20150603
[16] Oborne, Peter. “Thompson Reuters was wrong to designate the Palestinian Return Center as a terrorist,” Middle East Eye (5 March 2018): https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/thomson-reuters-world-check-was-wrong-designate-palestinian-return-centre-terrorist
[17] Oborne, Peter. “Why Majed al-Zeer’s case against World-Check matters,” Middle East Eye (January 21, 2019): https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/why-majed-al-zeers-case-against-world-check-matters
[18] Thomas Johnson, Amandla. “Leading Palestinian activist wins payout after terror blacklist,” Al-Jazeera (January 22, 2019): https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/1/22/leading-palestinian-activist-wins-payout-after-terror-blacklist
[19] “Al-Qadaa al-Namsawi yubare’e Rabitat Filastine min tuham daem al-irhab,” WAM (December 8, 2008): http://wam.ae/ar/details/1395236249412
[20] “Support Gaza Festival held in Vienna,” International Quran Agency (January 12, 2009): https://iqna.ir/en/news/1730069/support-gaza-festival-held-in-vienna
[21] “The Question of Palestine: United Nations meeting of civil society in support of the Palestinian people,” United Nations website (March 26, 2010): https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-200130/
[22] “Hamas leader is brain behind Dutch flotilla” Jerusalem Post (June 30, 2011): https://www.jpost.com/International/Hamas-leader-is-brain-behind-Dutch-flotilla
[23] Hamas leader is brain behind Dutch flotilla” Jerusalem Post (June 30, 2011): https://www.jpost.com/International/Hamas-leader-is-brain-behind-Dutch-flotilla
