FEMYSO

Last updated

FEMYSO (Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organisations) is a group representing 32 Muslim youth organizations across 22 European countries. [1] FEMYSO is a member of the European Students' Union, which considers it the de facto voice of Muslim youth in Europe. [2]

Contents

Smear campaign

FEMYSO has been the target of a smear campaign, aimed at linking the group with the Muslim Brotherhood. FEMYSO has categorically denied any such links. [3] In 2023 it was revealed that the campaign, commissioned and financed by the United Arab Emirates, was orchestrated by a Swiss company named "Alp Services" specializing in "dark PR", damaging and often destroying the reputation of hundreds of prominent European Muslims by spreading baseless rumours. [4] [5]

Baden-Württemberg Constitution Protection Report 2022

On June 22, 2023, Interior Minister Thomas Strobl, together with the President of the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Beate Bube, presented the Baden-Württemberg Constitution Protection Report 2022. [6]

This report highlights the link between FEMYSO and the Muslim Brotherhood:

The umbrella organization for the youth work of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) is the "Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organizations" (FEMYSO) in Brussels, which operates in close cooperation with national Muslim student and youth associations, serving as a broad talent pool for the European MB. However, most members of such organizations are likely unaware of the personnel connections with the MB.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muslim Brotherhood</span> Transnational Sunni Islamist organization

The Society of the Muslim Brothers, better known as the Muslim Brotherhood is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings spread far beyond Egypt, influencing today various Islamist movements from charitable organizations to political parties.

A smear campaign, also referred to as a smear tactic or simply a smear, is an effort to damage or call into question someone's reputation, by propounding negative propaganda. It makes use of discrediting tactics. It can be applied to individuals or groups. Common targets are public officials, politicians, political candidates, activists, and ex-spouses. The term also applies in other contexts, such as the workplace. The term smear campaign became popular around 1936.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islam in Germany</span>

Islam's significance in Germany has largely increased after the labour migration in the 1960s and several waves of political refugees since the 1970s.

The History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt (1954–present) encompasses the History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt from its suppression under Nasser to its formation into the largest opposition bloc in the Egyptian parliament. The Brotherhood operates under the slogan "Islam Is the Solution," and aims to establish a democratically introduced civic Islamic state. It has been described as "a deeply entrenched force, with hundreds of thousands of members and affiliates across the Middle East".

The Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamic organization that was founded in Ismailia, Egypt by Hassan al-Banna in March 1928 as an Islamist religious, political, and social movement. The group spread to other Muslim countries but has its largest, or one of its largest, organizations in Egypt, where for many years it has been the largest, best-organized, and most disciplined political opposition force, despite a succession of government crackdowns in 1948, 1954, 1965 after plots, or alleged plots, of assassination and overthrow were uncovered. Following the 2011 Revolution the group was legalized, and in April 2011 it launched a civic political party called the Freedom and Justice Party (Egypt) to contest elections, including the 2012 presidential election when its candidate Mohamed Morsi became Egypt's first democratically elected president. One year later, however, following massive demonstrations, Morsi was overthrown by the military and arrested. As of 2014, the organization has been declared a terrorist group by Russia, Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia and is once again suffering a severe crackdown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youth for Human Rights International</span> Church of Scientology-run organization

Youth for Human Rights is a program run by United for Human Rights, an American non-profit organization managed by Church of Scientology International. The organization promotes Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's writings on human rights and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Young Muslims UK</span> Muslim youth group

The Young Muslims UK (YMUK) was established in Leeds in 1984 and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2009. It became the youth wing of the Islamic Society of Britain (ISB) in 1990 with an aim to "provide a vehicle for committed young British Muslims to combine their knowledge, skills and efforts for the benefit of one another and British society as a whole."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic Forum of Europe</span> Organization

The Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE) is an Islamic organisation based in the United Kingdom with affiliates in Europe. Its charitable arm is the Islamic Forum Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muslim Charities Forum</span>

The Muslim Charities Forum (MCF) is an umbrella organisation for UK based Muslim-led charities whose primary goal is to provide humanitarian aid and assistance to the poorest and most vulnerable people around the world. It is also an associate member of British Overseas NGOs for Development (Bond), the UK membership body for non-government organisations and a member of National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), an organisation with 11,000 members that champions the voluntary sector and volunteering.

Lorenzo G. Vidino is an Italian-American writer on Islamism in Europe and North America, with a special focus on the Muslim Brotherhood. Since June 2015, he has headed the George Washington University Center for Cyber and Homeland Security's Program on Extremism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt</span> Sunni Islamist movement in Egypt

In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood is a Sunni Islamist religious, political, and social movement, with adherents estimated to number between 2 and 2.5 million. Founded by Hassan al-Banna in 1928, the group spread to other Muslim countries but has its largest organization in Egypt, despite government crackdowns in 1948, 1954, 1965 and 2013, after plots, or alleged plots, of assassination and overthrow were uncovered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revolutionary Socialists (Egypt)</span> Political party in Egypt

The Revolutionary Socialists (RS) are a Trotskyist organisation in Egypt originating in the tradition of 'Socialism from Below'. Leading RS members include sociologist Sameh Naguib. The organisation produces a newspaper called The Socialist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh</span> Egyptian physician

Dr. Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh Abdel Hady is an Egyptian physician, former student activist and a politician. In 2011–2012, he ran for President of Egypt as an independent. He was formerly a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) is a non-profit research group founded by Steven Emerson in 1995. IPT has been called a prominent part of the "Islamophobia network" within the United States and a "leading source of anti-Muslim racism" and noted for its record of selective reporting and poor scholarship.

Ibrahim Farouk El-Zayat is a European Muslim activist in Germany and has been a functionary in many important Islamic organizations in Germany, Europe, and Saudi Arabia.

The Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) is a British Sunni Muslim organisation founded in 1997. MAB has been well known for its participation in the protests opposing the Iraq War. More recently, it has been known for promoting Muslim participation in Britain.

The Europe Trust, formerly known as the European Trust, is a UK charity and company which lists its purpose as developing a portfolio of assets intended to fund social and economic projects for communities in Europe. The Europe Trust was founded by the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE), an organization alleged to have ties with the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omar Mustafa</span> Swedish politician

Omar Mustafa is a Swedish politician of Syrian descent and leader of the Islamic organisation in Sweden. He was a politician for the Social Democrat Party for AStockholm between 7 and 13 May 2014.

Sveriges Unga Muslimer (SUM), previously named Sveriges Muslimska Ungdomsförbund (SMUF), is an Islamic youth umbrella organisation in Sweden. The organisation was formed in 1991. SUM itself a member organisation of the following umbrella organisations: the Muslim Council of Sweden, Forum for European Muslim Youth and Student Organisations (FEMYSO) and Ibn Rushd studieförbund. In 2016 it had about 4000 members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kauthar Bouchallikht</span> Dutch politician (born 1994)

Kauthar Bouchallikht is a Dutch politician, climate activist and publicist. She served as a member of the House of Representatives between 2021 and 2023 on behalf of the green political party GroenLinks. Bouchallikht was the first member of parliament in Dutch parliamentary history to wear a hijab. She is also known for her activism in the climate movement.

References

  1. Joseph Hammond (8 November 2021). "European diversity campaign celebrating Hijab ended after French backlash". Religion News Service . Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  2. "Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organisations". European Students' Union . Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  3. "FEMYSO responds to false allegations on links to Muslim Brotherhood". FEMYSO. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  4. David D. Kirkpatrick (March 27, 2023). "The Dirty Secrets of a Smear Campaign". The New Yorker . Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  5. Wilmer Heck and Andreas Kouwenhoven (July 7, 2023). "Dit schimmige bedrijf vernietigde reputaties van Europese moslims" [This shadowy company destroyed the reputations of European Muslims]. NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  6. "Innenminister Thomas Strobl und Präsidentin Beate Bube stellen Verfassungsschutzbericht 2022 vor" [Interior Minister Thomas Strobl and President Beate Bube present the Constitution Protection Report 2022]. Verfassungsschutz Baden-Würtemberg (in German). June 22, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2023.