The Swiss member of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE) has announced that it was holding its 17th annual meeting and had invited a well-known Muslim Brotherhood scholar who had left the U.S. after his citizenship application had been suspended. According to the report:
The Swiss Muslim Union , a member of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe, organizes its 17th annual meeting during the period from October 16th to 18th 2009, under the title of “Towards a Stable Family”, the union has consequently invited a group of renowned scholars of da’wah…On this occasion the meeting will discuss many issues pertaining to the family and social relations, to develop the status of the Muslim family in Europe, as per the directions of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe which specified 2009 as the year of the family.
One of the scholars identified was Dr. Salah Sultan (aka Solah Sultan, Sallah Sultan). Dr. Sultan had left the U.S. following negative press reports in the U.S. media which led the authorities there to suspend his application for American citizenship and, as discussed in a previous post, relocated to Bahrain in 2007. Dr Sultan’s online resume indicates that he is or was a member of several important U.S. and European Muslim Brotherhood organizations including the European Council for Fatwa and Research, the Fiqh Council of North America, and the Islamic American University .This resume also expresses Dr. Soltan’s vision “To live happily. To die as a martyr.” Another previous post discussed some of Dr. Sultan statements including an appearance on Saudi TV where Dr. Sultan asserted that the US planned the 9/11 attacks as a pretext for terrorizing the world and praising Osama bin Laden confidante Abd Al-Majid Al-Zindani. A recent MEMRI TV report identified virulently anti-Semitic and anti-American comments made by Dr. Sultan on Egyptian TV in late December.
The Swiss Muslim Union is likely the LIGUE DES MUSULMANS DE SUISSE (LMS) an umbrella association for other Swiss Islamic associations and part of the larger Fédération des Organisations Islamiques de Suisse (FOIS). The rabita prefix in the LMS domain name suggests a connection to the Muslim World League (MWL) and a Swiss journalist has reported that the LMS is associated with the MWL and receives financial support from Saudi Arabia. Various reports state that the LMS is close to Hani and Tariq Ramadan, the grandsons of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood. The LMS 2005 annual congress drew widespread media attention as the result of an invitation to Egyptian preacher Wagdy Ghoneim who was denied permission to enter the country by Swiss authorities. Mr. Ghoneim is an Egyptian cleric who was voluntarily deported from the U.S. based on concerns that his past speeches and participation in fund-raising activities could be supportive of terrorist organizations. Known for his anti-semitic speeches, MEMRI has also reported on remarks by Mr. Ghoneim which aired on Al-Jazeera TV and which praised violent Jihad and criticized the U.S. and Europe as “Godless” nations.