French intelligence report accuses FEMYSO of functioning as a Muslim Brotherhood training arm.
A British lawmaker has raised concerns in Parliament about potential Islamist ties within a pan-European Muslim youth federation that recently expanded into the U.K. Nick Timothy, Conservative MP, warned Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood that the Forum of European Muslim Youth Organizations (FEMYSO) has been identified by French authorities as a “key player” in the Muslim Brotherhood’s European network.
In a letter dated September 8, Timothy said FEMYSO’s presence in Britain “raises legitimate questions about potential risks to our national security and social cohesion.” FEMYSO, based in Brussels and claiming 32 member groups in 22 countries, promotes itself as “the voice of Muslim youth in Europe” and has long touted engagement with EU institutions, the Council of Europe, and the United Nations.
But French officials described it differently. A 2024 report from France’s Interior Ministry cited FEMYSO as a “training structure for high-potential leaders within the Muslim Brotherhood movement,” preparing young activists to expand Islamist influence in politics, academia, and civil society.
The report also alleged “operational ties” between FEMYSO and other Brotherhood-linked institutions across Europe.
Timothy underscored that several FEMYSO leaders have controversial affiliations. General secretary Omar Abu-Qalbain previously worked with the Muslim Charities Forum, which lost government funding over alleged Hamas and Brotherhood links.
Campaigns leader Abdulsami Arjumand once held a role at Muslim Engagement and Development (MEND), criticized by U.K. officials for what they called an “Islamist orientation.” Former FEMYSO president Abdelrehman Rizk, now a trustee of the Muslim Student Charity, has ties to Human Appeal, a charity accused of connections to Hamas.
The group formally registered as a U.K. charity in 2020, shortly before the French report’s release, and has collaborated with the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS).
Critics say these networks have worked with organizations like MEND and CAGE to undermine Britain’s Prevent counterterrorism strategy. Timothy pressed Mahmood to clarify whether FEMYSO had input into the government’s Islamophobia consultation and urged a review of its funding and affiliations.
FEMYSO has rejected the French claims, calling them “defamatory and politically driven” and insisting it is not linked to any political organization.
Still, questions have spread beyond Britain. In the European Parliament, lawmakers have pressed the Commission on FEMYSO’s €210,000 in Erasmus+ funding and asked whether Brussels risks “endorsing Islamist propaganda.”
Fiyaz Mughal, founder of Tell MAMA, said Timothy’s questions deserved answers. “We need to be confident in the background of community organizations working in our country,” he told Focus on Western Islamism. “They must align with democratic values, where people have the right to question religion as well as defend it.”
With FEMYSO integrated into EU institutions yet flagged by French intelligence as a Brotherhood training arm, the debate is forcing governments to weigh the balance between empowering young Muslim voices and guarding against Islamist influence operating under civil society cover.
