The Federation of Islamic Organizations In Europe (FIOE) is reporting that the Ukrainian Muslim Brotherhood has organized summer programs supported by elements of the Global Muslim Brotherhood. According to the report:
Al Raed Summer 2010 has not been like previous ones. Islamic Cultural Centers and the divisions and societies of the Federation have organized a number of programs and camps which catered to most segments of the Muslims of the Ukraine, including youth, orphans and the sons and daughters of the community as well as duah. This took place in the period from June to July 2010. This effort was supported by many public figures, and charity organizations, such as Mercy International Asscociation, Kuwait Zakat House, Al Eslah Society of Bahrain and the International Forum for Muslim Youth in Saudi Arabia. Under the sponsorship of Mercy International the Federation’s division in the Crimea in the south of the Ukraine organized in June 2 camps for almost 200 orphans out of a total of 1500 Tartar orphans supported by Al Raed. The age range of participants was between 12 and 16. The camps which ran for 2 consecutive weeks (a week for boys and a week for girls) included a series of programs both educational and behavioral, such as the pillars of Islam, faith, teaching ablution, prayer, and Islamic ethics, as well as entertainment activities. The Federations’ division in the Crimea to the south and in the Donbas region to the east, organized 2 camps for Tartar Muslim youth, with 120 participants for a whole week, the camp included a cultural educational program which was specifically designed for them. The Islamic Cultural Centers and a number of social organizations which are supervised by the Federation organized daily summer programs for hundreds of the sons and daughters of the Arab Islamic communities residing in Ukrainian cities during June and July. Al Raed Summer was not limited to children alone, the divisions and societies of the Federation organized many trips for all Muslims, both men and women, old and young, as well as trips especially for Muslim families. The Federation was also concerned with those responsible for Islamic work in the departments and divisions, and hence organized with the sponsorship of the International Forum for Muslim Youth a camp for them including programs to suit their needs, which motivated them to exert all necessary effort for giving Muslims a better future in the Ukraine.
The Mercy International Asscociation, Kuwait Zakat House, Al Eslah Society of Bahrain (Muslim Brotherhood Bahrain) and the International Forum for Muslim Youth in Saudi Arabia (World Assembly of Muslim Youth) are all tied to the Global Muslim Brotherhood.
Al Raed (aka ARRAID ) is the Ukrainian member organization of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE), the EU-level umbrella group for the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe. A Canadian scholar has reported that an ARRAID fundraising brochure stated that the organization:
… aims at the increase of ‘the cultural, social and educational level of Ukraine’s Muslims,’ the spread of Islamic culture among, and financial assistance for them, and Islamic proselytism (da’wa) in the country, …. ‘By this, Ar-Raid will become an important breach (thughra) in confronting Christian missionary attacks and Jewish expansion, so assist and help it to be able to follow the way it began..’
The organization claims anywhere from 9-13 chapters throughout Ukraine. A recent post indicated that ARRAID has received funding from the Islamic Development Bank of Saudi Arabia.