An announcement by the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE) indicates that the the European Muslim Brotherhood has added its voice to what now appears to be a global campaign of anti-Israeli incitement centered on the Al- Aqsa Mosque. The announcement refers to what it says are unidentified “disgraceful acts” at the mosque site:
The provocations by extremist Jewish groups calling for the destruction of Muslim holy sites in al-Quds (Jerusalem) have intensified, including disgraceful acts recurring inside the square of the al-Aqsa Mosque, aided and abetted by the Israeli occupation forces. Israeli troops show no scruple in storming the al-Aqsa Mosque, using their weapons violently against worshippers, and firing heavy barrages of teargas in the vicinity, as was the case on Friday, 24 February 2012. The Federation of Islamic Organisations in Europe condemns in the strongest terms these escalating Israeli attacks on the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque, which entered a critical phase in recent weeks and days. The Federation warns that such violations have reached a point, where no concerned party can afford to remain complacent or silent. Europe’s Muslims follow with great alarm the mounting series of violations of the al-Aqsa Mosque, perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces, and the extremist groups working with them, including serious provocations and despicable desecration of this site held sacred by Muslims worldwide. These recent weeks have witnessed a series of vicious attacks, with blatant and racist defacement and defilement of a number of Muslim and Christian places of worship, committed by racist Israeli gangs raising the slogan of “pay the price”; such attacks occur under the watchful eye of the occupation forces, and under cover of the extremist right-wing Israeli government. The Federation calls attention to the fact that the Israeli occupation in its aggressive campaign against the city of Jerusalem and its sacred sites, is indeed practising sundry forms of irresponsible behaviour, known to have caused the explosion of waves of anger that ignited Intifadas and uprisings in the past. The situation is further aggravated in that these escalating and inflammatory acts come in the context of an extensive campaign waged against the city of al-Quds (Jerusalem), its religious sites, historic features, and civilisational identity, as well as its rightful Palestinian inhabitants, and parliamentarians elected to the Palestinian parliament. The European community of nations, represented by the European Union and the Council of Europe, are called upon to adopt a stern and forceful position to deter this dangerous Israeli escalation, and hold the Israeli government and its executive arms fully responsible, for these inflammatory acts, and all the consequent outcomes. The Federation warns that stopping this dangerous attack cannot be achieved by merely monitoring the violations, documenting the successive events, and expressing verbal condemnation, rather this grave situation warrants cutting off aid and ending preferential treatment to the Israeli side, and taking effective steps to force the Israeli occupation, its military, and extremist racist gangs, to abandon this reckless approach of playing with fire, in a region gripped by popular revolts.
Previous posts have discussed similar statements by Hamas and Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi as well as the recent Jerusalem “defense” conference held in Qatar that featured an unprecedented array of participants representing not only the Global Muslim Brotherhood but talso he far-right, the far-left, EU-country politicians, U.S. and European academics, and other a wide-variety of other groups.
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.
A recent post discussed the vista of the FIOE president to the Gaza Strip on an extended tour where he visited Hamas facilities, praised Palestinian “martyrs, and visited the grave of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yasine who was killed by Israel.