The European Parliament has backed measures aimed at curbing the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood and associated Islamist networks, prompting accusations of Islamophobia from opponents on the political left.
The resolution targeting what it describes as “Islamist entryism” was approved on October 8 by 381 votes to 167, with 15 MEPs abstaining.
It urges the European Union to place organisations and individuals connected to the Muslim Brotherhood on its terrorist list, while also proposing an EU-wide framework for national registers of hate preachers.
The text draws a clear distinction between political Islam and Islam as a faith, stating that the religion “is not inherently political or hostile”. It adds that “the overwhelming majority of those who observe Islam as a religion reject violence against civilians in the name of Islam”.
It says Islamist entryism depends on “the organised confusion between Islam as a religion, which falls under freedom of conscience, and political Islam as a societal project, which seeks to produce collective norms, derogatory regimes or community allegiances placed above common law”.
According to the resolution, such activity can encourage the formation of parallel communities and promote practices that conflict with democratic principles, the rule of law and the European Union’s core values.
The proposals will now go before the European Council, which must decide whether they should be put into effect.
French MEP Céline Imart, who sponsored the resolution, described its passage as “a historic victory because it is a European first”.
“For the first time, Europe has voted on a text that tackles Islamist entryism and the Muslim Brotherhood,” she said.
Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators march in Turin, Italy, during a rally in support of Gaza on October 10
French MEP Céline Imart, sponsor of the resolution, described its passage as “a historic victory because it is a European first”
“I’ve broken a taboo that Europe has been dragging around like a chain: this victory signifies a major doctrinal shift in the institutions. Proud to have carried this text through to the end,” Imart wrote on X.
She also thanked negotiators from other political groups, while criticising the socialists and far left for boycotting the text. “We were able to transcend partisan divides on a major issue for our societies and our youth,” she wrote.
The resolution, spearheaded by the European People’s Party, was condemned by the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), which issued a statement after the vote.
“ENAR condemns in the strongest possible terms the racist and Islamophobic resolution ‘on the need for an EU strategy to counter Islamist entryism and the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood network’ proposed by the European People’s Party (EPP) and passed by the European Parliament today,” the organisation said.
EXPLORE MORE: Ukraine’s Zelenskyy Open to Front-Line Freeze in Russia Truce
“This resolution is a stain on the European Parliament and marks a profoundly shameful day in Europe’s history.
“A Parliament that should defend democracy, equality and fundamental rights has instead given institutional legitimacy to a racist politics of suspicion that casts Muslim communities, Muslim-led civil society, organisations combating Islamophobia, and those who defend their rights as inherently suspect.”
The resolution also expressed concern over rising anti-Semitism across Europe. It “condemned attempts to exploit the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to promote anti-Semitic narratives and deepen social polarisation”.
It further said that concealing the face in public places creates challenges for public security, personal identification and law enforcement.
The text backed national laws banning full-face coverings, including the niqab and burqa, in public spaces and premises. It described such restrictions as necessary to safeguard “social cohesion, public safety and the protection of the rights and freedoms of others, in particular women”.
The European Commission has been called on to ensure that the ‘active promotion of Islamist ideologies which advocate the subjugation of women, anti-Semitism or hatred towards Christians’ has legal and administrative consequences.
It has also been asked to ensure that no EU funds can reach or benefit, directly or indirectly, entities linked to networks included on the EU list of terrorist organisations.
The resolution calls for a comprehensive overview of all cases of EU funds awarded to persons and entities suspected of links to the Muslim Brotherhood or political Islam.
Responding to the resolution, Lorenzo Vidino, director of the programme on extremism at George Washington University, told Fox News: ‘This is something that the French and the Austrian governments have been pushing for almost a decade.’
He added that the voting reflects a gap between the Right and the Left, ‘with the Right voting almost entirely in favor of the resolution, and a good part of the Left, although with some notable exceptions, voting against it’.
When asked about the differences between Europe and America’s approach to the Muslim Brotherhood, Mr Vidino said the European way is ‘a bit more nuanced’ than that of Washington, where the Trump administration has already designated the Muslim Brotherhood and its branches terrorist organisations.
He added that Europe sees the Muslim Brotherhood ‘mostly through the lenses of entryism, of subversion, of a group that destroys the fabrics of society… a matter of a threat to democracy, but a lot of the activities of the Brotherhood might be legal if taken individually’.
He doubted whether the resolution would have a ‘major tangible impact’, however.
‘Islamist groups are very good at camouflaging their activities,’ he said.
‘This vote is a victory, but it is also a starting point,’ Ms Imart said. ‘The Commission and the Council must now take action, and I will make sure they do.’