The political and religious organisation of the Muslim brotherhood is becoming increasingly powerful in Europe. It also has a double agenda. That is the view of Harvard researcher Lorenzo Vidino in his book the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe and North America that is about to be published. He thinks that European policy-makers are being taken for a ride by the Brothers.
In the Netherlands, the Moroccan-Dutch politician Yahya Bouyafa was recently the subject of a scandal. He was accused of secretly being a member of the controversial Muslim Brotherhood. Mr Bouyafa, however, denied this.
The Muslim Brotherhood, established in 1928 in Egypt with the aim of establishing an Islamic state, was one of the first modern Islamic political movements. In the 1950s and 1960s, many followers of the movement came to Europe to study. The student organisations they established are at the centre of an influential network of well-educated Muslims who often hold key-positions in Islamic organisations in Europe. The Muslim Brothers are not used to being open about their allegiance to the once clandestine movement. Their tendency to work under the auspices of existing organisations makes it difficult to assess their real significance. Mr Vidino is convinced, however, that the movement is very influential in Europe.
-Some say that you exaggerate the influence of the Muslim Brothers in Europe because there is hardly any support for their ideology among European Muslims...
We are talking here about a very small group of very well-educated people who have disproportionate influence. They are well-organised and have large sums of money at their disposal, which they receive mostly from donors in the Gulf region. They very successfully run Muslim organisations, have access to government and are visible in the media. In spite of the fact that most European Muslims do not share their views, they often manage to pose as their representatives to European governments and media.
True, the Muslim Brothers have little support in Europe, but this may change in the future. After all, young European Muslims of the second and third generations are looking for a new Islamic identity. Different groups are competing for their attention and the Brothers may be very successful because of their position of power.
-You say that the Muslim Brothers in Europe have a double agenda...
In public, the Brothers present themselves as a moderate movement, stressing integration and religious tolerance, condemning terrorism: All the buzzwords that western policy-makers like to hear. But if you look at what they say in their mosques or in the books that are being sold in their bookshops, the message is quite different. Europe is viewed as a corrupt, infidel society in which a Muslim shouldn’t integrate. The actions of western governments are being portrayed as a war on Islam.
-What do you think is the long-term objective of the Muslim Brothers in Europe? Do they want to islamise European society or introduce shari’a law?
No, I don’t think so. We are talking about a very pragmatic and realistic political movement that thinks about what it can achieve in the short and the mid-term. Like any conservative religious movement, they want Muslim minorities in Europe to maintain a strong Islamic identity, without being corrupted by secular influences. But as a political movement, they are primarily concerned with gaining power, inside the Muslim community and in the larger society. Once they have gained enough power, they will use it to influence policy-making, both domestically and internationally. They want to be the organisation the government talks to when it comes to issues related to Islam and the Muslim world, policy-making on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, the war in Afghanistan etc.
-In Europe, the Muslim Brothers often pose as a moderate alternative to the more radical Salafi groups. How would you describe the difference between them?
I think the difference is in the tactics. Their views of the ideal Islamic society are similar, but the Salafis are rigid and refuse to compromise on their ideals. The Muslim Brothers, on the other hand, are more than willing to compromise and participate in the political system. They sometimes even cooperate with people they have very little in common with such as conservative Christian groups or people from the extreme left.
-In earlier publications you have described European political elites as naïve. You said they uncritically accept them as representatives of European Muslim communities, failing to see their hidden radical agenda and even their links to terrorist organisations ...
I have changed my mind a bit on that point. European policy-makers have become less naïve in the past few years. Governments realise that the Muslim Brothers’ claim that they are the sole representatives of the Muslim community is not true. That Muslim communities are extremely diverse and that the most vocal voices are not necessarily the most representative. Also there is much more knowledge about the nature of these organisations.
The situation in the UK is a good example. For a long time, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) was the semi-official monopolistic partner to the British government. The leadership of this organisation is dominated by the Muslim Brothers. In 2006, however, the British government changed its policy as it realised that large segments of the Muslim population did not feel represented by the MCB.
-What about the situation in the Netherlands?
The Netherlands is a bit of a historical exception when it comes to the Brotherhood. For a long time, there was no Brotherhood presence and the organisation that exists today is tiny in comparison to most other countries. The reason must be that the Netherlands did not have students coming in the 1950s and 1960s. All the Muslim Brother organisations in Europe started off as student organisations.
