Europe Recognizes the Muslim Brotherhood Threat, But Will It Ban the Organization?

By Dr. Lorenzo Vidino

The Trump administration recently designated four branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations. Will Europe follow suit? Dr. Lorenzo Vidino, Director of the Program on Extremism, examines the complexities.

The U.S. government’s recent decision to designate four branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations (a move likely to be followed by additional moves against its branches) has triggered a spirited and serious debate in Europe’s political, intelligence and law enforcement circles. Bills to ban the group have been introduced in several European capitals. But will they succeed? Unlikely.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez recently provided a clear-eyed analysis of the dynamics at play, not just to France – arguably the continent’s most aggressive country in confronting the Brotherhood – but in other European countries. Nunez stated that a ban on the Brotherhood would be “impossible to implement and legally fragile” and that “we prefer to act on a case-by-case basis against certain individuals and organisations potentially affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood when we observe that, in their rhetoric and actions, they challenge the laws of the Republic.”

As Nunez’ comments indicate, Europe’s reluctance to designate the organization shouldn’t be misinterpreted as a lack of understanding of the challenges the MB pose. In a recent interview with The National, I stated: “In many European countries, you have segments of the policymaking community that have moved in that direction, and there’s no question that the U.S. position gives that a push. I think there’s also a reasonable expectation that the U.S. might designate some Europe-based Brotherhood organisations.”

Moreover, I said, “there’s no question that is triggering conversations. In Europe, for example, you cannot ignore that the Americans take certain positions. There are parts of the European, policymaking, law enforcement and intelligence community that analyse the issue of the Brotherhood in the same way as the Trump administration does.”

This negative view of the MB is hardly consigned to the more conservative segments of Europe’s political spectrum. On the contrary, they are extremely common within intelligence, law enforcement and even, judicial authorities, across the continent. In 2023, I published a short report titled: Verbatim: What European Security Services Say About the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe. The report collected all publicly available statements from annual and specialized reports, testimonies in parliamentary hearings, and formal statements in court cases. My report included all the statements I could find, with no selections or omissions, save for repetitions. All these documents are publicly available and unclassified; all were reported with references and without commentary.

The one thing that all these sources shared was an extremely negative view of the Brotherhood. Some references were made to the MB’s suspected direct or indirect ties to international terrorism,. But the frame used by European services also concerned the organization’s role in inhibiting social integration and cohesion, human rights and democracy.

In Spain, for example, the Centro Nacional de Inteligencia (National Intelligence Center, CNI), weighing in on a 2020 court case denying citizenship to an alleged member of the MB, stated that:

J. is active member of the radical Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movement, a politically inclined organization very influential within the Islamic world and which has a broad international structure. The doctrine spread by the Muslim Brotherhood movement is based on a radical interpretation of the Qoran, with the goal of establishing a caliphate governed by Islamic law (sharia). The Muslim Brotherhood seeks to establish in Western countries a “personal status of the Muslim”, working in the social, educational, economic and political fields to achieve this goal.

Belgium’s Sûreté de l’État, in its 2020 annual report, similarly stated:

The Muslim Brotherhood and its often highly-qualified members are found in many non-profit organisations and other groups in all areas of society. This makes it more influential and important than one would expect from its limited membership. The Muslim Brotherhood respects democratic rules and the law, and pursues supposedly legitimate goals in the short term. However, the discourse, beliefs and vision adopted internally in the longer term are contrary to the proper functioning of the constitutional order and democracy. To the State Security Service, the Muslim Brotherhood is an extremist movement.

The Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV), Germany’s federal domestic intelligence agency, 2005 report stated on the MB and related groups:

These ‘legalistic’ Islamist groups represent an especial threat to the internal cohesion of our society. Among other things, their wide range of Islamist-oriented educational and support activities, especially for children and adolescents from immigrant families, are used to promote the creation and proliferation of an Islamist milieu in Germany. These endeavours run counter to the efforts undertaken by the federal administration and the Länder [states] to integrate immigrants. There is the risk that such milieus could also form the breeding ground for further radicalization.

The Verfassungsschutz (Office for the Protection of the Constitution), Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany’s most populous state, 2018 annual report argued:

The relatively small number of sympathizers [of the Muslim Brotherhood in Germany] must not obscure the fact that some of them have considerable influence. They can usually boast an academic education, are employed in well paid and responsible occupations and well-connected both in Germany and internationally. By their own understanding, the Muslim Brotherhood represents an “Islam of the Middle,” which separates itself from the two poles of Jihadism on the one hand and a liberal, on the other hand, Western Islam adapted to Western ideals.

Their goal is an Islamist society in which political interests are ultimately regulated according to the religion. For this purpose, a strategy of “Islamization from below” is pursued, which first addresses the individual and aims at a change of consciousness towards a lifestyle shaped by religion. The individuals trained in this way should then work their way into society and make sure that in the long term it approaches the religious understanding of the Muslim Brotherhood.7 In the long run, the threat posed by legalistic Islamism to the liberal democratic system is greater than that of jihadism, which will always outnumber numerically. They aspire to an Islamist order, but are prepared to allow certain democratic elements within that framework. For this reason, their extremism is often barely recognizable at first glance.

The Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz und Terrorismusbekämpfung (BVT), Austria’s intelligence agency, argued in opinion in a 2016 court case:

The Muslim Brotherhood is not institutionalized under this name in Austria; however, it characterizes the public depiction of Islam through its intellectual and personal strength. The Muslim Brotherhood does not maintain membership registers; its members are kept secret in all countries to protect them from being identified by the authorities. The political system aimed for [by the Muslim Brotherhood] is reminiscent of a totalitarian system, which guarantees neither the sovereignty of people nor the principles of freedom and equality. Such a fundamental position is incompatible with the legal and social norms of the Republic of Austria.

Säkerhetspolisen, Sweden’s security services, 2022 report stated:

Since 2018, Säkerhetspolisen no longer assesses the MB as a terrorist organization. This is because the organization’s goal, a worldwide caliphate built on sharia, is not primarily to be achieved with the use of force. Nevertheless, the goal is incompatible with Swedish fundamental freedoms and rights. In addition, the organization’s strategy in the Western world is based on segregation and enclavization. According to MB ideology, Muslims should not be assimilated into Western culture.

These are the positions held by virtually all of Europe’s security services. While the continent’s governments are unlikely to designate the MB as a terrorist organization any time soon, it’s misguided to believe they’re embracing the group – outside a few European political actors. We’ll see if the Trump administration’s designation of the Brotherhood triggers a broader debate and calls for action in Europe against an organization that maintains a broad network across the region.