UKIP leader Paul Nuttall has called for the hardline Islamist Muslim Brotherhood to be proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the government and for its activities and related institutions to be investigated.
“In 2015 the Government produced a review – the Jenkins review, that laid bare much of the problems with the organisation, but its recommendations were not strong enough,” Mr. Nuttall said in a press release, noting the Brotherhood “has been instrumental in promoting an extremist world view in the UK and beyond”.
“The review suggested ‘refuse visas to members and associates of the Muslim Brotherhood who are on record as having made extremist comments, where this would be conducive to the public good,” he continued.
“I would like to know when the Government thinks that ‘extremist comments’ are ever conducive to the public good? And how many extremists have had their visas blocked under these rules.”
The Muslim Brotherhood, founded by Hassan al-Banna in Egypt in 1928, is an international hardline Islamist movement that considers Western society as “inherently hostile to Muslim interests” and is a key inspiration to terrorist groups like Hamas.
The Jenkins review also reported the Muslim Brotherhood has undeclared links to Britain’s largest Islamic organisation, the Muslim Council of Britain.
Contextualising his calls for the Brotherhood to be proscribed as a terrorist organisation, Mr. Nuttall referenced the close connections of the Islamist organisation to those responsible for the recent Manchester Arena terror attack.
“We know that the Didsbury mosque, also known as the Manchester Islamic Centre, where the Manchester bomber, Salman Abedi, worshipped and worked has links to the Brotherhood and we know that Qatari money was involved.
“The review also stated that it would investigate illicit funding of Islamic charities linked to the Brotherhood, how many investigations have taken place, and what are the results of those investigations. The review said ‘the views and activities of the Muslim Brotherhood meet the legal test for proscription’. In the light of the horrors of the past year is this happening? If not why not?”
Condemning the prime minister, who was home secretary for 6 years, the UKIP leader said Theresa May “failed to effectively act” on the review’s recommendations.
Breitbart London reported last week that a report authorised in 2015 intended to be shown to then Home Secretary May which is believed to focus mainly on the funding of jihadi groups by Saudi Arabia may never be released, with Home Office sources admitting the findings were “very sensitive”.
Six countries designate the Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation: Russia, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.
In August 2016, advice from Britain’s Home Office has said that high-profile Islamist operatives may be eligible for asylum in the UK as members of the Brotherhood are now “persecuted” in Egypt.
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