The Federation of Islamic Organizations In Europe (FIOE) has announced the formation of yet another European body that, although described as legally and financially independent, will no doubt be operating under FIOE auspices. According to the announcement:
The Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe initiated a campaign in collaboration with hundreds of organizations and associations under the title of “2009 the Year of the Muslim Family in Europe” and its motto was “Towards a Stable Family…. in Service of European Societies”. One of the objectives of this campaign was to form a specialized European body to deal with all issues relevant to the Muslim family. To crown this initiative the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe decided to establish the European Center for the Muslim Family which was announced in a seminar in the hospitality hall during the Bourget Conference – the 27th Conference of the Muslims in France – and was attended by a number of intellectuals and du’ah. The seminar was mediated by Mr. Hossam Shaker, and attended by Mr.Chakib Bin Makhlouf the President of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe, and Dr.Ahmed Gaballah the Head of the European Institute for Human Sciences in Paris and the Vice President of the Federation and Dr. Haytham Rahma and Mrs. Camillia Younis an activist in the family field and a member of the board of trustees of the European Assembly of Imams and Spiritual Guiders. All attendees applauded the efforts of the Federation and its interest in the family, and stressed that this organization was the cornerstone for preserving Islamic presence in Europe. The center will be an Islamic European body, established by the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe, and will include organizations and staff from European countries, and will be legally and financially independent.
All of the identified individuals and organizations are known to be affiliated with FIOE which has established numerous new organizations in the past year.
A report on FIOE by the NEFA Foundation describes the organization as follows:
The Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE) claims to be an independent organization representing the interests of Muslims in Europe. In reality, the FIOE is an umbrella group that comprises the global Muslim Brotherhood in Europe. Strong links connect FIOE’s leadership central institutions and member organizations to the Brotherhood, as well as to Saudi Arabia. Funding for the FIOE is derived largely from Gulf sources, including some of the ruling families of the United Arab Emirates. The FIOE has strong ties to Hamas and Hamas fund-raising organizations, and some FIOE member organizations show evidence of links with Al-Qaida. The FIOE recently opened a headquarters office in Brussels and has had some success in positioning itself as a “dialog partner” for the EU and other important institutions.