The Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) has posted a press release indicating that the UK Muslim Brotherhood, described as a “delegation of Muslim dignitaries, is sending a delegation to lobby the Turkish government to oppose the accession of Israel into the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). According to the release:
Dates for Delegation of Muslim dignitaries to lobby Turkish government confirmed Muslim dignitaries, including representatives of major Muslim and Islamic organisations is set to visit Turkey, between 9- 15 May 2010, in a bid to urge the Turkish government to veto Israel’s possible accession into the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The group includes:
1- Massoud Shadjareh, Chairman of Islamic Human Rights Commission-UK
2- Majed al-Zeer, General Director of the Palestinian Return Centre-UK
3- Said Ferjani, Head of Policy, Media & PR, Muslim Association of Britain-UK
4- Dr. Daud Abdulla, Director of Middle East Monitor- UK
5- Dr. Abdallah Thomas Milcent, March 15 Committee- France
6- Dr. Arafat Shoukri, Chair of the European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza-UK
7- Seyfeddin Kara, Head of Campaigns, Islamic Human Rights Commission-UK
The delegation will be meeting with the Turkish President Abdullah Gul and expecting to meet Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan, as well as senior government representatives to make their case. The visit forms part of an on-going campaign initiated by the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC)[1] requesting the Turkish government to oppose the Israeli application and prevent its accession. So far, thousands of letters and emails from citizens around the world have been sent to the Turkish Prime Minister. The campaign materials have been widely disseminated through different groups including the Universal Justice Network (UJN) and have been translated into various languages including Turkish and Malay and Arabic.. …The delegation will also discuss the situation of Muslims in Europe.
Most of the groups represented in the delegation have extensive ties with one another. The Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) is an important part of the UK Muslim Brotherhood and Daud Abdulla (aka Daud Abdullah) is actually the Deputy Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain, an umbrella group dominated by the UK Muslim Brotherhood including the MAB. Previous posts have discussed the controversy surrounding the statement signed by Abdullah which called for violence against Israel and thought to condone attacks on British troops. The original statement was the result of a February 2009 meeting in Istanbul where religious scholars and clerics met with senior Hamas officials to plan a “third Jihadist front” centred on Gaza and was first publicly reported by the GMBDW based on a translation from Muslim World News.
The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) and two PRC directors are also directors of the MAB and the PRC is also listed as an affiliate of the MCB. PRC activities are frequently promoted by the MAB, MCB, and other U.K Brotherhood organizations. PRC director Ghassan Four is also a Trustee of INTERPAL, a key member of the Union of Good and part of the Muslim Brotherhood Hamas fund-raising network . PRC director Zaher Birawi is a Trustee of Education Aid for Palestine (EAP), also a part of the Union of Good. Mr. Birawi is also head of programming for Al-Hiwar TV which frequently features MB/Hamas individuals and organizations and was founded by Azzam Al-Tamimi, a U.K Muslim Brotherhood leader and close to Hamas. An Israeli web site, known to be close to Israeli military intelligence, has reported that Mr. Birawi, along with another PRC Trustee are “past Hamas operatives who found refuge in Britain in the early nineties.”
The executive director of the PRC is Arafat Madi (aka Arafat Madi Shoukri) who is also the chairman of the European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza (ECESG). Previous posts have discussed the campaign aimed at ending the Israeli blockade likely orchestrated by the global Muslim Brotherhood and its European representatives. A NEFA Foundation report documents the numerous ties between the ECESG and the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE), essentially the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe. Previous posts have discussed both the 8th Palestinians in Europe Conference recently held in Berlin and co-sponsored by the PRC.