TRENDS to hold France session on stopping Brotherhood funding in Europe, launch Paris virtual office
28 June 2025 10:39
ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)TRENDS Research & Advisory is continuing to expand its international presence by launching a new virtual office in Paris, the French capital. The office aims to serve as a platform for intellectual exchange between the Arab and Francophone worlds.The launch of the office coincides with the second session of the international symposium, held in the form of a workshop, and titled 'Toward Concerted Efforts to Stop the Financing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe: Challenges and Opportunities'. It will be held on Monday, June 30, 2025 in Salle Monory at the headquarters of the French Senate.French Senator Nathalie Goulet and Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al-Ali, CEO of TRENDS Research & Advisory, will open the event. They will highlight the importance of Europe–Arab cooperation in addressing critical challenges related to the financing of extremist groups.Dr. Wael Saleh, Political Islam Affairs Advisor and Director of TRENDS in Canada, and Senator Nathalie Goulet will moderate the workshop. It will address several topics, including the structure of financing networks, obstacles to halting financial flows, and a European road map for confronting the phenomenon.A panel of European and Arab experts and officials will participate in the session, including Laure Anas Renaud, representative of the French Financial Intelligence Unit; Dr. Khalifa Al Dhaheri, Director of the Mohammed bin Zayed University for the Humanities; Mr. Ali Faisal Ba'Alawi, Head of the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit and Representative of the Executive Office to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing; François Volpoet, Director of Chain Spy; Levi Vial, Director of the Centre for University Studies in France; Hamad Al Hosani, researcher and Head of the Political Islam Studies Section at TRENDS; as well as researchers Shamsa Al Qubaisi and Shaikha Al-Nuaimi.'The launch of our virtual office in Paris represents a pivotal strategic step toward strengthening intellectual and knowledge-based communication between the Arab world and the Francophone world,' Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al-Ali, CEO of TRENDS Research & Advisory, said.'We believe that this office will be a vital platform for exchanging ideas and visions on common global issues, especially those related to combating the financing of extremist groups,' he added, pointing out that this step comes in conjunction with holding the second session of our important international symposium on stopping the financing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe.
The move confirms TRENDS' commitment to strengthening cooperation in confronting security and intellectual challenges. Dr. Muhammad Al-Ali emphasised that through this new presence, TRENDS aims to monitor and analyse French knowledge and production, convey visions of the Arab world to this vital space, and contribute to formulating effective policies for a safer and more stable future.
Source: Aletihad - Abu Dhabi
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29 June 2025 18:41 By Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al-Ali*Since its ouster from power in several Arab countries, the Muslim Brotherhood has faced a string of crises. Yet, it continues to operate in Europe, hiding under various names and receiving direct or indirect support. This persists despite the consensus on the need to counter the spread of extremist Islamist currents across societies, whether in the Middle East, Europe, or the entire world. In this context, TRENDS Research & Advisory, in cooperation with French Senator Nathalie Goulet, is organising a symposium at the French Senate titled "Stopping the Financing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe" to address the challenges involved and the mechanisms required to stop such Muslim Brotherhood has long exploited Europe's open and free environment to spread its ideology and manage extensive financial networks. This tactic is not new; it has been used for decades, starting with the establishment and control of Islamic centres across Europe, followed by deep infiltration into charitable and humanitarian organisations and other forms of civil society institutions. The group operates through multiple organisational structures, effectively diverting attention away from the true nature of these entities, many of which receive European funding without recognising that these organisations follow the Brotherhood's ideological design. These institutions often serve as arms of the Brotherhood, active around the world in promoting extremist ideologies, soliciting donations, and channelling them into activities that threaten national security and deepen radicalisation in situation is made worse by the fact that the Brotherhood, which has been designated as a terrorist group in several Arab countries and its original home of Egypt, still has representative branches in dozens of countries worldwide. Some branches operate openly, while others disguise themselves as charitable, civil society, or even human rights organisations. In recent years, Europe has become a safe haven for the Brotherhood. Its affiliated organisations and institutions continue to pursue their agendas across the continent through a vast and multifaceted network that includes investment portfolios, banking operations, civil society work, the halal trade, and offshore business some European governments have tried to target the group's activities and place restrictions on prominent and well-known members. However, firm, coordinated crackdown measures have not been taken, probably because of the close links that some leaders of the international organisation of the Muslim Brotherhood have in European countries. Nevertheless, a confrontation is inevitable, as the Brotherhood actively works to establish hotbeds of extremism wherever it goes. Strict oversight in Europe is necessary to expose the extent of its activities, as is rigorous monitoring of its funding sources and connections to global terrorist networks. Ultimately, this could pave the way for the Brotherhood to be designated as a terrorist organisation, rather than waiting until it succeeds in expanding ideological infiltration across Europe and triggering social unrest and clashes with state countries have already begun rethinking their position on the Brotherhood. Growing security concerns about the group's influence on European societies, its promotion of hate speech, separatist ideologies, and religious extremism have led to concrete action. Austria, for example, banned the Muslim Brotherhood under anti-terrorism laws, while France has been closely monitoring the group's activities and assessing its infiltration into social, political, and even governmental structures. However, the absence of a unified European stance on designating the Brotherhood as a terrorist group continues to provide it with loopholes, enabling it to shift operations from one country to another and interact, remotely, with communities that have rejected its presence, while using European platforms to propagate a discourse of extremism and the lack of coordinated European action, there is consensus regarding the risks posed by the Muslim Brotherhood's activities in Europe. There is an urgent need to confront ideological projects that aim to undermine the foundations of the modern state, especially given that groups like the Brotherhood exploit the margins of freedom of expression to gradually build influence, infiltrate political and local institutions, reshape societal cultures, and exert pressure on national structures, including the European Union itself. This is often done through a number of transnational European organisations that share the same intensive activity of Brotherhood-affiliated entities in Europe is aimed at influencing national policies. Some of these groups appear to have developed working relationships with figures in finance and politics. They operate through networks that undermine the integration of minority communities, fuel ethnic tensions, promote hatred, and maintain ties to global terrorist groups. Confronting the dangers of such activity requires an intellectual response to extremist ideologies, the promotion of values of tolerance and coexistence, and the strengthening of international cooperation, particularly between Europe and the Middle East. It is equally important to review the sources of financing and both direct and indirect support provided to civil society organisations to ensure that such resources do not fall into the hands of extremist groups like the Brotherhood, which could ultimately turn those resources against our societies in the form of radicalisation and Research & Advisory has played a leading role in combating extremist ideologies and Islamist movements, with a particular focus on the Muslim Brotherhood. The centre's efforts are dedicated to dismantling the narratives of terrorist thought, challenging anarchic doctrines, exposing doctrinal distortions, and countering radical methods of spreading extremism. Through a diverse range of publications, TRENDS explores various aspects of these groups across the Middle East, Europe, and the world and works with governments, decision-makers, and parliamentarians to lay the groundwork for effectively confronting the threat of extremist organisations in order to build societies based on peace, dialogue, and shared values. *The writer is the CEO of TRENDS Research & Advisory
