Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism on Thursday released a report alleging that the Muslim Brotherhood is working across Europe to fuel antisemitism and efforts to delegitimize Israel while maintaining ties to Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
The report says a broad European network of organizations linked directly or indirectly to the Muslim Brotherhood operates in Sweden, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland and other countries. According to the ministry, the groups help finance the Islamist movement and maintain direct and indirect connections to terrorist organizations, with an emphasis on Hamas.
3 View gallery
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
(Photo: AFP PHOTO / TURKISH PRESIDENCY PRESS OFFICE)
The ministry said intelligence agencies and governments in Western Europe are aware of what it described as the threat posed by the Muslim Brotherhood. Security services across Europe view the network of organizations affiliated with the movement as inherently anti-democratic and seeking to fundamentally reshape society and governance, the report said. Despite that, it said, several governments continue to engage in dialogue and cooperation with such bodies.
Among the organizations cited is Interpal, a British-based charity that has been designated by the United States as a terrorist organization. The report says Interpal is headed by Ibrahim Hewitt, a British convert to Islam who has denied the Holocaust and promotes a strict interpretation of Islamic law, and Issam Youssef Mustafa, whom it describes as a key figure linking the organization to the broader Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas networks worldwide.
According to a U.S. Treasury Department report cited by the ministry, Mustafa served on Hamas’ executive committee in 2007 under then-leader Khaled Mashaal. He also operated alongside the late Sheikh al-Qaradawi when Qaradawi headed the Union of Good, a coalition of charities that the United States has designated as supporting Hamas. The ministry report says Mustafa strengthened ties between Interpal and the Muslim Brotherhood’s European network.
Interpal relies on public donations, the report said. It raised about 7.03 million British pounds ($8.9 million) in 2018 and 5.54 million pounds ($7 million) in 2019. In 2023, after being designated as a terrorist organization, its donation income fell to 92,581 pounds ($117,000), according to the report.
The ministry also cited the Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organizations, or FEMYSO. A 2025 French intelligence report identified FEMYSO as the youth arm of the Council of European Muslims and described it as a training platform for potential senior figures in the Muslim Brotherhood, according to the Israeli report. Since 2016, FEMYSO has received more than 1 million euros ($1.1 million) annually in funding from Qatar, it said.
Another body mentioned is the European Institute of Human Sciences, known as IESH, which was previously headed by Qaradawi, who died in 2022. The institute is now led by Mohamed Karmous, described in the report as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Since 2007, IESH has received millions of dollars in donations from Qatar, according to the ministry. The report said security and government officials in several countries have warned that content and positions promoted by IESH at times contradict democratic values, individual rights and accepted norms.
The ministry warned of what it called a direct threat to Jewish communities in Europe stemming from indirect and ongoing support for terrorist organizations, including Hamas, through networks of charities and umbrella groups such as Interpal and the Union of Good. It also cited what it described as the normalization of antisemitism and religious-political incitement.
In addition, the report alleged a systematic campaign to delegitimize Israel in Europe through advocacy coalitions, cooperation with pro-Palestinian organizations, public opinion campaigns, indirect fundraising for Israel’s adversaries and efforts to influence political and public discourse in ways that deny Israel’s right to self-determination and sovereignty.
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli said ignoring the issue would come at a cost. “Those who close their eyes today will pay tomorrow in the security of their citizens and in Jewish lives,” Chikli said. “The Muslim Brotherhood is not a civil society movement. It is a mechanism for infiltrating extremism and terror into the heart of Europe. Behind a facade of ‘moderation’ lies a network with ties to Hamas and foreign funding that undermines democracies from within. Europe should wake up.”
Avi Cohen-Scali, director general of the ministry, said the movement operates in Europe through methods that appear outwardly moderate and pragmatic. “Despite its outwardly ‘moderate’ approach, the organization consistently rejects the principles of liberal democracy and Western values, which do not align with its radical ideological goals, including, at times, the Islamization of Europe,” he said.