The moves in the United States and the U.K. toward increasing legitimacy accorded to Muslim Brotherhood groups also shows signs of developing in Germany. German Muslim Brotherhood leader Ibrahim El-Zayat recently participated in a panel discussion entitled “How Dangerous is Islamic Extremism in Germany.” Also participating in the panel were the Secretary-General of the Central Council of the Muslims in Germany and Dr. Johannes Urban of the German Interior Ministry, the government agency in charge of internal security. Although German born Mr. El-Zayat has initiated numerous lawsuits denying he is associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, he is the head of the Islamische Gemeinschaft Deutschland (Islamic Community of Germany) a group said by the German domestic intelligence agency to be associated with the Muslim Brotherhood in Germany In addition, Mr. El-Zayat has numerous ties to the European and U.S. Muslim Brotherhood networks including a former post as Western European representative of the Saudi World Assembly of Muslim Youth and current status as an officer of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe.