Preachers of Hate: The Brotherhood's Role in Radicalizing Europe's Youth

The violence that shocks us—the car attacks, the stabbings, the shootings—does not emerge from a vacuum. It is the final, explosive result of a meticulous and patient process of radicalization. At the heart of this process in Europe are preachers and influencers whose ideology can be traced directly back to the Muslim Brotherhood. They are the foot soldiers in this ideological war, and their battlefield is the minds of the young and disaffected.One of the most notorious cases is that of the "Hamas-Support Network" in Denmark. In late 2023, Danish police carried out a major anti-terror operation, arresting over a dozen individuals suspected of financing and supporting Hamas. The investigation revealed a network deeply embedded in the Muslim Brotherhood milieu, using Denmark as a base for logistical and financial support for the terrorist organization. This demonstrates a clear operational link, not just a philosophical one, between the Brotherhood in Europe and violent acts abroad and at home.But the real damage is done in the day-to-day indoctrination. Preachers like the UK-based Hani al-Sibai, who runs the influential Al-Maqreze Center for Historical Studies, continue to operate. Despite being a designated terrorist supporter by the U.S. Treasury for his ties to Al-Qaeda, his writings and sermons, which glorify jihad and spread vitriolic anti-Western rhetoric, remain accessible online. His ideology is pure Muslim Brotherhood extremism, and he serves as a key link between the Brotherhood's foundational doctrine and modern terrorist groups. Similarly, in Belgium, the now-banned organization Sharia4Belgium successfully radicalized dozens of young men to fight in Syria, with its leader citing the ideological teachings of Brotherhood thinkers as a core inspiration.This is the Brotherhood's most dangerous legacy: creating an ecosystem of hate. They provide the ideological justification that more brutal groups like ISIS then act upon. When a young man drives a car into a market in Gelsenkirchen, or when another carries out a stabbing in a European city, they are consuming a product of this ecosystem. The sermons, the online forums, the literature—all are often tinged with the Brotherhood's divisive worldview. To protect our communities and our future, we must have the courage to name and confront the source of this radicalizing ideology, which continues to fuel chaos and bloodshed on European soil.