An EU news website has described the new charter of conduct for Muslims in Europe, sponsored by the Muslim Brotherhood European organization, as “aimed at dispelling myths about links between Islam and violence, as well as clarifying the meaning of terms such as ‘jihad’.” The document itself states:
Islam calls for mutual acquaintance, dialogue and co-operation among people and nations so as to enhance stability and guarantee peace in the world. The term Jihad that occurs in Islamic texts means to exert all efforts towards good, starting from reforming oneself to spreading truth and justice between people. Jihad in its understanding as warfare is regarded as one of the means available to any sovereign state when it needs to defend itself against aggression. The teachings of Islam, in this respect, are in line with international law. Based on such an understanding of Jihad, Islam rejects violence and terrorism, supports just causes and affirms the right of all people to defend themselves by legitimate means.
A recent post has describe the Muslim Brotherhood strategies for responding to terrorism and noted that deception about the nature of Jihad is part of the Brotherhood’s justification for Islamist violence. As the post discussed:
In order to defend Islam (Islamism) from charges that it is inherently violent/terroristic, the Brotherhood deceives the public about the nature of Jihad. This is necessary because Jihad plays an important role for Islamism and the Brotherhood and if the connection between Islam and violence is to be denied, Jihad must be explained away. Again, the Brotherhood represents the “Jihadism” of the Islamists as opposed to the “classical Jihad” of Islam but since that distinction is also lost on the public, the Brotherhood defends Jihad. It does so usually in one of two ways, sometimes employing both deceptions. First, the Brotherhood claims that Jihad has little or no connection to violence and warfare (i.e. there is no “Holy War”), and is instead akin to various forms of inner struggle or self-improvement. Second, the Brotherhood suggests that Jihad is a form of “freedom fighting”, even comparing Jihad to the American Revolution.
The FIOE charter would appear to be yet another in a long series of Brotherhood deceptions relating to Jihad. Another post discussed the meeting of 400 European Muslim organizations in Brussels held under the auspices of (FIOE) where the organizations were expected to sign the “code of conduct” with rules rules for the Muslims living in Europe. FIOE is the umbrella group for the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe and has made other in roads into the EU, most noticeably the quasi-official status attached to its youth organization known as the Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organizations (FEMYSO) which is routinely invited to EU policy committee meetings. FIOE has also recently relocated its headquarters to Brussels.