France Moves to Dissolve the Largest Muslim Brotherhood Institute in Europe
Saturday 13/September/2025 - 02:11 PM
Khaled Ali
The European Institute of Human Sciences (IESH) Has Turned into a Hotbed of Terrorism
Paris escalates against the Brotherhood and shuts down the largest institution for training imams linked to the organization
Undeclared foreign funding behind the decision to dissolve the institute
The French government is preparing, in the coming days, to make a final decision to dissolve the European Institute of Human Sciences (IESH) in Nevers, an institution affiliated with the international organization of the Muslim Brotherhood, which has trained hundreds of imams working in France.
The decision follows a series of investigations and raids, the latest in December 2024, on the grounds of undeclared foreign funding from several Arab countries. On June 17, 2024, the institute’s financial assets were frozen, and it was officially notified of the dissolution project. Despite the institute’s attempt in July to propose a voluntary dissolution, the authorities rejected it, considering the move as an attempt to reestablish itself through alternative structures outside France, similar to the cases of CCIF and Baraka City, both dissolved in 2020.
Main Accusations
According to the French Ministry of the Interior, the institute is involved in:
• Incitement to violence against individuals and property.
• Spreading discrimination and hatred against women and non-Muslims.
• Incitement to terrorism inside France and abroad.
The decision is also linked to the institute’s connection with Muslims of France (formerly UOIF), regarded as the main representative of the Brotherhood current in France, which promotes a societal project based on separating from French society and creating a parallel entity within the Republic that rejects its principles and core values.
Evidence Presented
The French authorities presented a series of pieces of evidence, including:
• Teaching materials legitimizing physical violence, such as:
• Calls to cut off the hands of thieves.
• Justification of beating women at the first signs of disobedience.
• Imposing the veil and restricting women from holding positions such as judge or army commander.
• Legitimizing polygamy and child marriage.
Involvement in Terrorism
The authorities also provided documents and materials showing the institute’s connection to terrorism, including:
• Educational materials legitimizing volunteering for jihad battlefields.
• The involvement of around ten former students in terrorist activities, including Abdelkader Merah, brother of the Toulouse attacker Mohamed Merah.
• The institute’s links to Humani’Terre, an association accused since 2003 of financing terrorism, whose funds were frozen on June 5, 2024, and which is under investigation for terrorism financing and money laundering.
Revealing Raids
During raids on the institute’s premises on June 17, 2024, authorities discovered books such as “Hisn al-Muslim (Fortress of the Muslim)”, glorifying the fight against “infidels” (the West and the French), in addition to an Arabic-language book urging Muslims worldwide to emulate the “Afghan jihad.”
The French government believes that the IESH is no longer merely an educational institution, but has turned into a center for indoctrinating radical Brotherhood ideology, legitimizing violence and financing terrorism, which poses a direct threat to public order and national security.
The anticipated decision to dissolve it is part of Paris’s broader strategy to confront political Islam and extremist groups within its territory.
