The European Commission has come under criticism over its decision to promote an Islamic youth organisation with alleged ties to the radical Muslim Brotherhood organisation.
French broadcaster CNews revealed on Thursday that, earlier this month, an Instagram post celebrating International Youth Day from the European Commission featuring Commission president Ursula von der Leyen had promoted the Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organisations (FEMYSO).
“Let’s be inspired by the young people who show… that you can achieve whatever you believe in. This is the spirit of Europe’s next generation,” the EU Commission president said in the clip.
In a split-second flash in the video, a group of four men appear to be in the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, France wearing T-shirts reading: “The future is youth. Powered by FEMYSO”.
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The Forum Of European Muslim Youth And Student Organisations was founded in 1996 and has gone on to open up an office in Brussels, the main seat of power of the European Union.
The organisation was founded under the banner of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE), the European arm of the Global Muslim Brotherhood political network, alleges the director of the programme on extremism at George Washington University, Lorenzo Vidino.
FEMYSO, for its part, has denied that it is connected to the Muslim Brotherhood, claiming that suggestions attesting to such a connection are merely fabrications of the “far right” meant to discredit the group.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which was founded in Egypt in 1928, has openly stated that its main goal is to establish a state under the strict Islamic Sharia system of law, with its central rallying cry being “Islam is the solution”.
The organisation has been branded as a terrorist organisation in Egypt and has been banned in several other countries.
The former head of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Mahdi Akef, is quoted as saying: “We believe that Zionism, the United States, and England are gangs that kill children and women and men and destroy houses and fields. …. Zionism is a gang, not a country. So we will resist them until they don’t have a country.”
CNews claimed that despite its alleged connections with the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by multiple countries, FEMYSO has received at least €210,000 (£178,000/$211,000) in public funding from the EU since 2007.
The funding is ironic given that the Muslim youth organisation has openly opposed liberal reforms in Europe, such as the prohibition of full face veil burqas in public in France.
Former french government minister Marlène Schiappa said: “A little tour of this organization’s social networks shows how aggressively they make statements towards France… blaming and overwhelming it with all words.”
In exclusive comments to Breitbart London, Romainain MEP and Eastern Rite Catholic priest Cristian Terhes said: “While Ursula von der Leyen is ashamed of Christianity and disregards the Christian foundation of European culture, it seems that she doesn’t have a problem supporting groups linked to the Jihadist Muslim Brotherhood.
“By denying the important role of Christianity in European culture, Ursula is actually undermining the unifying factor of European culture itself,” the MEP added.
Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka
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