Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe

Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe
Founded1989
TypeUmbrella organization
FocusRepresenting and guiding all Muslims in Europe
Area served
Europe
Websiteeuromuslims.org

The Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE) was founded by the Muslim Brotherhood in 1989.[1] FIOE subsequently created the European Council for Fatwa and Research, a pan European Muslim Brotherhood organisation which provides guidance to Muslims in Europe.[1] According to its website, it has "hundreds of member organizations spread across 28 European States, all subscribing to a common belief in a methodology based on moderation and balance, which represents the tolerance of Islam"[2] The FIOE has a headquarters office in Brussels and has had some success in positioning itself as a dialog partner for the EU and other important institutions.[3] Funding for the FIOE is derived largely from Gulf sources, including the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation and the Waqf Ministry in Kuwait.[3] In February 2014, the FIOE elected Abdallah Ben Mansour as its new President replacing Chakib Ben Makhlouf.[4]

Organization structure

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In 2008 according to the EU Observer, FIOE represented some 29 Muslim organisations, mostly Sunni along with more than 1000 local groups among which were Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), Muslims of France (UOIF), and Islamic Community of Germany.[5]

Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe organisation structure in 2018:[6]

Federation of Islamic
Organizations in Europe
(FIOE)
European Council for
Fatwa and Research
(ECFR)		The Europe Trust{{{FEM}}}European Institute
for Human Science
(EIHS)		Muslims of Europe Charter
European Forum
of Muslim Women
(EFOMW)		28 Member organisations

Activities

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The FIOE was the sponsor of an initiative known as the Muslims of Europe Charter which was signed by more than four hundred Muslim organizations from all European countries and announced in Brussels in January 2008. A FIOE spokesman describe the document as "a message to government and the rest of society, but also directed at Muslims within Europe," "It describes how we should act as positive citizens in the societies in which we live and not be a threat." The document outlined 26 points which aimed at disconnecting links between Islam and violence as well as giving a definition of jihad.[5]

In 2011, it published an eulogy for Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy on its homepage, whom it described as a "prominent thinker".[7][8]

Ties to Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas

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FIOE has been described by Lorenzo Vidino as "de facto, the overarching organization for new Western Muslim Brotherhood groups in Europe."[9] According to Vidino, the FIOE founders and main members are new Western Muslim Brotherhood organizations such as the Union of Islamic Organisations of France the Islamic Community of Germany, and the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) and that its board members include new Western Brothers such as Ahmed Jaballah and Ibrahim El-Zayat. In 2005, the FIOE President Ahmed Al-Rawi told the Wall Street Journal regarding the relationship of FIOE with the Muslim Brotherhood, "We are interlinked with them with a common point of view," he said. "We have a good close relationship.[10] Ayman Aly, the FIOE Secretary-General, is a senior member of the Guidance Bureau of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood as well as a former adviser to the deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi.[3]

According to a US organization, the FIOE also has ties to Hamas and Hamas fund-raising organizations [3]


References

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  1. ^ a b Jenkins, J; Farr, C (2015). Muslim Brotherhood Review: Main Findings (point 31) (PDF). London: Government of UK. p. 8. ISBN 9781474127127. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018. Muslim Brotherhood organisations in the UK –including charities –are connected to counterparts elsewhere in Europe. MAB are associated with the Federation of Islamic Organisations in Europe (FIOE), established by the Muslim Brotherhood in 1989. FIOE subsequently created the European Council for Fatwa and Research, another pan European Muslim Brotherhood body, intended to providereligious and social guidance to Muslims living in Europe.
  2. ^ "About Us". Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe. Archived from the original on 31 October 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d Steve Merley "The Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe", The NEFA Foundation (1 October 2008). Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  4. ^ "Election of Mr Benmansour as new President of FIOE". Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe. Archived from the original on 14 September 2014.
  5. ^ a b Teresa Küchler and Leigh Philips "400 groups sign charter for European Muslims", euobserver.com (14 January 2008). Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  6. ^ Aje Carlbom (March 2018). Islamic activism in a multicultural context – ideological continuity or change? MSB1189 (PDF). Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency. p. 22 / Figure 2. ISBN 9789173838115. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 March 2018.
  7. ^ "European Islamic group praises Holocaust-denier - International news - Jerusalem Post". www.jpost.com. Retrieved 2018-12-16.
  8. ^ "Federation of Islamic Organisations in Europe | FIOE mourns the prominent thinker, Roger Garaudy". fioe.org. Retrieved 2018-12-16.
  9. ^ Vidino, Lorenzo (25 August 2010). The New Muslim Brotherhood in the West (First ed.). Columbia University Press. p. 51. ISBN 9780231151269.
  10. ^ Ian Johnson, "Islamic group's ties reveal Europe's challenge", The Wall Street Journal (December 29, 2005). Retrieved 16 April 2016.
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