The Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report brings the otherwise unreported here news of a major criminal investigation into several Muslim Brotherhood leaders and groups in Germany and Belgium.
The raids were publicly announced in Germany, but have not been widely reported. The site also provides links to other reports, particularly by the NEFA Foundations on some of those under investigation.
What is striking is the stature of the institutions that were raided on suspicion of money laundering, criminal activities, acquisition of property under false pretenses, and aiding "Islamists" and violent Islamic jihadists.
One thing this shows is that, despite the constant protest to the contrary, at least the German prosecutors and those of several other nations, believe there is, in fact, a transnational Ikhwan organization.
There is, but the Brotherhood usually denies its existence.
It also shows the wealth and power the group has acquired over time. It set up in Germany in the early 1960s, and has rolled on, virtually unchallenged and unexamined, since. This is not unlike the MB groups in the United States, as outlined by prosecutors in the Holy Land Foundation case, who have spread influence as a "mainstream" Islamic organization.
This case is particularly important because it goes to the intricate financial, real estate and mosque structure the MB has build over several decades in Europe, where it has often served as a gateway for those who join violent jihad.
According to the GMBDR:
Also, according to sources in Germany, the Belgian aspect of the investigation involves Al-Aqsa Belgium, the Belgian member organization of the Union of Good, a coalition of charities headed by global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi that is designated by the U.S. as raising funds for Hamas, a group directly linked to Yousef al-Qaradawi.
Another individual in the investigation is likely to be Ayman Aly who, along with Mr. El-Zayat is an officer of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE), the umbrella organization for the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe. A 2005 Wall Street Journal article reported on transfers of money from the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) to the Albania branch of Taibah International, an Islamic charity whose Bosnian branch was designated as a terrorist entity by both the U.S and the U.N in 2004. According to the Journal report, the money was transferred by two Mr.El-Zayat and Mr. Aly :
Federation officials also have helped channel money to Islamic groups in the Balkans. A key figure in this effort is Ibrahim el-Zayat, who as head of the Islamic Community of Germany, a founding group in the federation, is one of Europe’s most prominent Muslims. In 2002, German federal police launched an investigation of Mr. Zayat. According to copies of a report reviewed by the Journal, he allegedly transferred more than $2 million on behalf of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, a Saudi-run organization that propagates Wahhabist fundamentalism, which isn’t part of the federation. Some of that money, according to the report, was sent by Mr.
Zayat, and another federation official Ayman Sayed Ahmed Aly, to an Albanian charity, Taibah. Taibah’s Bosnia branch last year was designated a terrorist organization by the US government. Its Albanian branch was raided last year by the government there."The constellation of accounts, money flows and persons indicate that the accounts in Germany of Ibrahim El-Zayat and Ayman Sayed Ahmed Aly were used for carrying out fundamentalist Islamic activities in Europe," the report said. Mr. Rawi [head of FIOE} said his federation has nothing to do with the activities of Mr. Zayat or Mr. Aly. "It is hard to prevent our members from working for charitable organizations," Mr. Rawi said.
Douglas Farah is a former West Africa bureau chief for The Washington Post and author of "Blood From Stones: The Secret Financial Network of Terror"