The danger of political Islam in Europe

In the aftermath of the latest horrific assassination attempt in the Notre-Dame de l'Assomption basilica in Nice, anxiety over political Islamist groups among Europeans is mounting significantly.

The wave of attacks carried out by Islamist militants in Paris, Nice, is raising alarm, with European security officials saying they fear more violence.

The idea of forming a common European front against political Islam, first broached by France’s President Emmanuel Macron, is being embraced by other European leaders.

Some politicians have expressed concern that Islamist extremists are creating separate mini-communities within Europe that reject secular values including freedom of religion and gender equality.

More importantly, the Religious Affairs Directorate of the ruling party in Turkey (also known as Diyanet) is working to expand its reach in Western countries in the religious field with support of Turkish President Erdogan himself.

The tendency towards the ideology of political Islam appears more clearly in the books of Muslim Brotherhood founder  Hassan Al-Banna.

On the great ambition of President Erdogan to become the leader of all Muslims, the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) works side by side with the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), as the two associations coordinate among themselves in the field of their activities in European countries.

The impact of the harmonic cooperation between the government of President Erdogan, and members of the MB, who are living as refugees in Turkey, along with activities related to COVID-19 such as international aid to some NGOs; it is likely to have an impact on the general dynamic of individual actors in Central and Eastern Europe.

In the beginning of 19820s Muslim Brotherhood worked for strengthening its members politically and socially in order to consolidate its existence in Europe and to deepen the relationship with European institutions. 

Since the 1950s the group has been working to establish a wide network of mosques, charities and Islamic organizations.

This stage culminated in the establishment of the Union of Islamic Organizations in Europe in 1989, such union included about 100 Islamic center and organization related to International Muslim Brotherhood Organization. 

Europeans today feel that they are paying for the mistake of having been the most welcoming people in the world to political Islamic parties and organizations that have clearly committed the largest historical crime against the Islamic religion and its followers around the world.