European Parliament votes to confront Muslim Brotherhood, 'Islamist entryism' in overwhelming vote

Following the sanctioning of foreign Muslim Brotherhood groups by the Trump administration, the European Parliament recently took its own action against the transnational radical Islamist group.

As Europe begins to respond to the threat of radical Islam across the continent, an overwhelming majority of the European Parliament voted for a resolution that condemned the Muslim Brotherhood and its actions.

European Parliament member Céline Imart of France, who sponsored the resolution, called the vote "a historic victory because it is a European first. For the first time, Europe has voted on a text that tackles Islamist entryism and the Muslim Brotherhood."

Imart posted on X that she had "broken a taboo that Europe has been dragging around like a chain: this victory signifies a major doctrinal shift in the institutions… We were able to transcend partisan divides on a major issue for our societies and our youth."

Lorenzo Vidino, director of the program on extremism at George Washington University, told Fox News Digital that, "This is something that the French and the Austrian governments have been pushing for almost a decade," noting a growing consensus across Europe that wants action.

The resolution was led by the European People’s Party, or EPP, a center-right coalition that is the largest group in the European Parliament. "The voting does reflect a gap between the right and the left," said Vidino, "with the right voting almost entirely in favor of the resolution, and a good part of the left, although with some notable exceptions, voting against it."

As part of her post on X, Imart made it a point to thank "the negotiators from the other groups with whom I had the pleasure of working - excluding the socialists and the far left, who boycotted the text."

Vidino said, "The Brotherhood remains something that is seen through the political lenses of our own political debates, where it shouldn't be... because it's a challenge to our societies."

A press release on the resolution issued by the European Parliament's news website stated that Islamist entryism targets "democratic institutions, the rule of law, equality between women and men and fundamental freedoms." It stressed that Muslim citizens must be protected from discrimination as "a democratic obligation," while "warning against treating organized Islamist networks as representative interlocutors."

The release also stated, "While Europe must remain free, open and faithful to its principles, it can ‘no longer fund, consult or legitimize networks that use its language, procedures and funding to weaken its values from within,’" but "MEPs stress that anti-discrimination policies must not be used to shield Islam from criticism or legitimize organized Islamist networks."

The resolution was slammed by ENAR, a pan-European anti-racism network, which the Muslim Brotherhood and 4 of its branches as terrorist organizations. He says Europe sees the Muslim Brotherhood "mostly through the lenses of entryism, of subversion, of a group that destroys the fabrics of society… a matter of a threat to democracy, but a lot of the activities of the Brotherhood might be legal if taken individually."

While noting that numerous security services across Europe have been warning about the Muslim Brotherhood for some time, Vidino says the resolution "sets the tone. It gives a political push," suggesting agencies and governments "might feel more legitimized in seeing the Brotherhood in negative ways."

"I'm a bit skeptical on whether this resolution would have a major tangible impact," Vidino added. "Islamist groups are very good at camouflaging their activities." While there is "no organization that calls itself Muslim Brotherhood in Europe," he said if and when funding is pulled from an Islamist organization by the EU, "They will make a fuss… They fight back. They have an ability to also leverage what could be a crisis, but turn it to their advantage by playing the victim card and the Islamophobia card."

As part of the resolution, the European Council was asked to assess whether entities or individuals linked to the Muslim Brotherhood should be added to the EU list of terrorist organizations. It called for full traceability of EU funding and a European Commission overview of EU funds awarded to people or entities suspected of links to the Muslim Brotherhood or political Islam. 

It also welcomed initiatives by member states to draw up national lists of hate preachers and calls for the establishment of such a list at EU level, while also calling for stronger scrutiny of foreign funding and transnational partnerships, particularly involving actors linked to Qatar or Turkey and greater use of Schengen tools and EU databases.

"This vote is a victory, but it is also a starting point," Imart said. "The Commission and the Council must now take action, and I will make sure they do."