Den britiske regjeringen bestilte tidligere i år en rapport om Det muslimske brorskaps (DMB) virksomhet i Storbritannia. Rapporten ble bestilt som følge av bekymringer for at DMB fremmer en islamistisk ideologi som har oppmuntret britiske jihadister til å reise til Syria og Irak og således nører oppunder ekstremisme i Storbritannia og i den arabiske verden.
I den lekkede rapporten blir Det muslimske brorskap koblet til over 60 veldedighetsorganisasjoner, grupper og TV-kanaler som opererer i Storbritannia.
Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, who is an adviser to the review, is reported to have described it as “at heart a terrorist organisation”. The Brotherhood insists it is non-violent and seeks to impose Islamic rule only through democratic change. It has condemned Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil) and al-Qaeda.
A senior source close to the inquiry said its report – compiled but not yet published – had identified “an incredibly complex web” of up to 60 organisations in Britain, including charities, think tanks and even television channels, with links to the Muslim Brotherhood, which will all now come under scrutiny.
Utrederne har også undersøkt DMBs utenlandske nettverk. En ekspert uttaler at DMB nå opererer fra tre hovedbaser: London, Istanbul og Doha, hovedstaden i Qatar. Sistnevnte har de siste 30 årene vært hjemmet til Yusuf al-Qaradawi, en eksil-egypter som ofte omtales som Brorskapets åndelige leder. Qaradawi, som ble nektet innreise til Storbritannia i 2008, beskyldes for antisemittisme og for å støtte palestinske selvmordsbombere, hustruvold og straff av homofile. Han er leder for Det europeiske fatwarådet, og har ellers gjort seg bemerket ved å hylle Holocaust og et fromt ønske om et nytt, da utført av muslimer.
Qatar har som følge av sin støtte til Det muslimske brorskap under den såkalte arabiske våren, blitt isolert fra sine naboer Saudi Arabia og De arabiske emirater. Landet finansierer også Hamas, som opprinnelig ble etablert som en palestinsk gren av det egyptiske brorskapet og hvis militære ving er fordømt som en terroristorganisasjon av bl.a. Storbritannia.
Sikkerhetsekspert med islamisme og politisk vold i Europa og Nord-Amerika som spesiale, Lorenzo Vidino, som skal ha jobbet med rapporten, uttaler: «Det er klart at Brorskapet har mange mørke flekker, alt fra et tvilsomt forhold til deres diskutable effekt på Storbritannias sammenhengskraft».
Myndighetene vil sannsynligvis ikke forby Brorskapet, men følgende tiltak er forventet iverksatt:
– Etterforskning av veldedige organisasjoner som i realiteten fungerer som frontorganisasjoner for DMB.
– Etterforskning av DMBs finansiering og forbindelser til utenlandske jihadist-grupper.
– Nekte predikanter fra land som Tyrkia og Qatar og som er forbundet med DMB innreise til Storbritannia for å delta på massemønstringer og konferanser.
– Vi kan ikke forby organisasjonen, men det var aldri hensikten med gjennomgangen. Vi kan gå etter enkeltindivider, ikke for terror-relaterte aktiviteter, men med Al Capone-metoden: Vi kan ikke ta dem for terrorisme, men jeg vedder på at de ikke betaler skatten sin, sier en kilde til The Telegraph.
“One of the big things is piling pressure on the charitable missions. Until now it has been very hard to monitor all the groups linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.”
It is understood the Government will also use powers already available to Theresa May, the Home Secretary, to bar radicals linked to the Brotherhood. Visiting clerics from Turkey and Qatar are of special interest.
A Cabinet Office source said of the review: “The Home Secretary has the power to exclude a non-British citizen from the UK where she considers that the individual’s presence in the UK would not be conducive to the public good. The Home Secretary will use these powers when justified and based on all available evidence.
“Given the concerns now being expressed about the group and its alleged links to extremism and violence, it’s absolutely right and prudent that we have a more thorough understanding of the group and its impact on both on our national security and on our interest in stability and prosperity in the Middle East.”
Dr Vidino, an academic who has written a book about the Muslim Brotherhood in the West, has identified a number of groups linked to the organisation, including the Muslim Association of Britain and the Cordoba Foundation, both of which had their bank accounts closed down by HSBC in the summer. Mr Cameron, while in opposition, accused the Cordoba Foundation, run by Anas Altikriti, of being a front for the Muslim Brotherhood.
A number of individuals – including Mr Altikriti and other supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood in the UK, as well as their families – also had their HSBC accounts shut down. The bank said it was “applying a programme of strategic assessments to all of its businesses” after a £1.2 billion fine in 2012 over poor money-laundering controls, but offered no further explanation for its actions.
The origin of funding of the Brotherhood-linked groups in the UK will come under scrutiny in the Cabinet Office report. Qatar has been the Brotherhood’s major funder, bankrolling the party in Egypt, where it gained power in democratic elections before a bloody military coup.
Qatar has also bankrolled Hamas, as well as the Brotherhood in Libya, where it has been accused of joining forces with jihadist militias intent on overthrowing the secular, elected government in Tripoli. Qatar has also funded high- profile events in Britain, apparently linked to the Brotherhood.
En talsmann for Det muslimske forbundet i Storbritannia (MAB) sier at forbundet har samarbeidet med regjeringen om rapporten. Forbundet sier at de er en egen organisasjon, men legger til at de deler Brorskapets hovedprinsipper, som er å opprettholde demokraati, individets frihet, sosial rettferdighet og oppbygging av sivilsamfunn. MAB bekrefter imidlertid at DMB etter deres oppfatning hverken er ekstreme eller oppfordrer til voldsbruk, og avviser krav om forbud mot organisasjonen.
Mr Altikriti accused Mr Cameron of making false claims about the Cordoba Foundation under the protection of parliamentary privilege. He said his foundation was an independent think tank, and that HSBC had offered no explanation for why his bank account had been shut down.
Mr Altikriti was given security clearance as recently as February to meet President Barack Obama in the White House as part of an Iraqi delegation.
Toby Cadman, his lawyer, said the review was flawed from the beginning. He said there was a perception of bias because as ambassador to Saudi Arabia, which has outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood and which has fallen out with Qatar over the Islamist organisation, Sir John was not the right choice to oversee it.
Mr Cadman said Sir Richard Dearlove’s statement that the Muslim Brotherhood was “at heart a terrorist organisation” gave a clear implication of preconceived ideas. “There is absolutely no suggestion that Sir Richard would act improperly, but the appearance of impropriety is what matters,” he said.
Sir John’s review was completed in July but has not yet been published. It has been claimed that it was delayed because it stopped short of recommending the Brotherhood be outlawed.
The Government denies this but the failure to proscribe it is said to have angered Saudi Arabia.
The Telegraph: Downing Street set to crack down on the Muslim Brotherhood