A Belgian newspaper has provided information on the most important leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Belgium. According to the report:
Brussels resident Bassem Hatahet, 43 years old , is the son of a big shot of the Syrian branch of the Muslim Brothers, whose attempt at coup d’etat was embedded in blood, in Hama, in 1982. After his arrival in Belgium, in 1985, via Germany, he started studying dentistry. He is behind the origin of a series of associations, dedicated to the collection of funds (for example Foundation Al aqsa), and many mosques, like Khalil (last in the hands of the Moroccan Brothers Justice and Development Party), in Molenbeek, or Assahaba, in Verviers. Presenting the profile of “financier”, he is active today in the European headquarters of the Brothers (Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe), located in Brussels. However, he never succeeded in obtaining Belgian citizenship.
A Syrian organization identifies a Tareef Hatahet as being detained in 1980 as a result of the Hama uprising although it is not known if he is related to Bassem Hatahet. Bassem Hatahet was first identified as a Muslim Brotherhood leader in a report on the Muslim Brotherhood in Belgium discussed in a previous post.
The global Muslim Brotherhood, for the most part, is linked to the Egyptian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood although there are points of contact with the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood as well. For example, 75 year-old Dr. Muhammed Al-Hawari was born in Syria and came to Brussels in 1958 to study for his doctorate in pharmacy. In 1962, Dr. Hawari returned to the University of Damascus where he became a pharmacology professor and began his lifelong work into the scientific computation of Islamic prayer times. Media reports indicate that Dr. Hawari helped to create the Muslim student union in Europe, the Islamic Center in Brussels as well as the Islamisches Zentrum Aachen, known to be a center of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood. He also has been a member of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, headed by Youssef Qaradawi, the most important leader of the global Muslim Brotherhood.