Head of the French Center for Studies: The decision to dissolve the European Institute for Human Sciences is a strategic blow against the Muslim Brotherhood's project in France.

 

Muslim Brotherhood

Head of the French Center for Studies: The decision to dissolve the European Institute for Human Sciences is a strategic blow against the Muslim Brotherhood's project in France.

The battle against the Muslim Brotherhood's European affiliates entered a new chapter on Wednesday with the French authorities announcing the dissolution of the European Institute of Human Sciences (IESH), described as one of the organization's most dangerous platforms on the continent. 

The decision, announced by French Interior Minister Bruno Retaul during a cabinet meeting, was not purely administrative; rather, it represented a strategic shift in Paris's approach to confronting the group's expansion through what is known as "religious education."

The Interior Ministry explained that intelligence investigations proved that the institute was not merely an educational institution, but rather a front for spreading extremist ideology and justifying jihad, in addition to graduating imams tailored to the project of political Islam. 

Under the decision, the institute will be immediately closed, all educational activities will be halted, and its financial assets and those of its founders will be frozen, in accordance with French law. The
French magazine "Interview" considered the move a "severe blow" to the Muslim Brotherhood in France, noting that the institute was one of the group's most prominent tools for infiltrating French society by forming a network of imams and ideological preachers.

According to observers, the decision poses new challenges for Paris, highlighting the urgent need to find national and official alternatives for the training of imams and preachers, ensuring that religious discourse aligns with the values ​​of the French Republic and is free from the influence of transnational ideologies.

Imam Hassan Chalghoumi, known for his anti-extremism stance, welcomed the decision, calling it "a major victory for the Republic against the infiltration of the Brotherhood," thanking the French government for "protecting the values ​​of France and moderate Muslims from this threat."

While this move is viewed as a devastating blow to the project of political Islam in France, experts believe that Paris has ushered in a new phase of confrontation based on dismantling the group's soft power tools, most notably religious education and training institutions.

Dr. Akila Dabichi, president of the French Center for International Studies, emphasized that the French authorities' decision to dissolve the European Institute of Human Sciences represents a "very important strategic step" in confronting the Brotherhood in France and Europe.

In exclusive statements to Al Arab Mubasher, Dabishi said that the decision is not merely an administrative measure, but rather an announcement of a qualitative shift in the French state's policies toward the group's soft power tools, which for years have relied on the cover of education and religious training to spread their ideas.

She explained that the investigations that led to the decision clearly revealed that the institute was not merely an academic institution, but rather an "ideological structure" aimed at graduating imams tailored to the project of political Islam and justifying extremist thought under the banner of religious education.
The head of the French Center for International Studies added that dismantling this platform will significantly weaken the Brotherhood's ability to form networks of influence within French society, especially since the institute was one of the most prominent sources of graduates of preachers and imams who adopted a discourse inconsistent with the values ​​of the republic.

Dabishi emphasized that the next challenge facing Paris is to develop national alternatives for the training of imams and preachers, ensuring a moderate religious discourse consistent with the principles of a civil state. She argued that "the battle against extremism cannot be resolved solely by closing suspicious institutions, but also by creating formal educational paths that protect society from infiltration."

She concluded by saying that the dissolution decision "constitutes a powerful message to the group in Europe that the era of overlooking its institutions is over, and that the French state is pursuing a strategy to dismantle its intellectual and advocacy influence."