French Government Protests EU Subsidies to Islamic Fundamentalist Groups

The French government has protested the European Union’s provision of millions of euros in subsidies to Islamic fundamentalist groups.

While accusing the European Commission of neglecting Islamic groups, the French government stated that these groups are taking full advantage and exploiting the naivety of the European Commission.

According to a report from France’s international radio station, Benjamin Haddad, Minister Advisor on European Affairs, announced: “Paris is calling on the European Union to intensify its efforts to combat antisemitism and the promotion of a culture of hatred, and for this purpose, to cease financial support to natural and legal persons opposed to European values. Europe’s shortcomings in this area undermine citizens’ support for the European Union project.”

The French government submitted its protest regarding this matter to the European Commission and added: “Organizations that wish to benefit from European Union aid must accept and respect European Union values, namely freedom, democracy, equality, and human rights.”

The newspaper “Le Figaro” also published a detailed report in April regarding the financial misuse of European Union aid by Islamic groups. In its report, the newspaper wrote: “For example, the Council of Europe allocated approximately ten million euros in subsidies to a project called the ‘European Quran,’ which aims to demonstrate that the Quran played an important role in shaping the diversity and religious identity of Europeans from the Middle Ages to the modern era.

Another example is from another institution called the ‘Assembly of Muslim Youth and Student Organizations in Europe,’ which is considered supporters of the ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ and advocates of Islamic hijab, and has received 210,000 euros in subsidies from the European Union. Among the slogans of this group are: ‘Just as beauty lies in diversity, freedom lies in the hijab’ and ‘Happiness in accepting the hijab.'”

The newspaper also writes about an Islamic charity organization named Islamic Relief Worldwide, which is counted among Hamas defenders, and received approximately nineteen million euros in subsidies from the European Union during the years 2014-2020. One official of this organization described Jews as “descendants of apes and pigs” in 2020, and his successor called the Hamas organization “the purest resistance movement in modern history.”

The French government also added in its protest to the European Commission: “Gaziantep University in southern Turkey received twelve million euros in subsidies from the European Union during the years 2015-2023, while its managers supported marriages between close relatives (uncles and aunts with nieces and nephews), called non-believers ‘Satan worshippers’ and homosexuals ‘mentally ill patients,’ and also called for a global uprising.”

According to published reports, two million euros were also allocated as subsidies to university faculty members and Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip. The French government is set to present its written protest to the General Council of the European Union. This council meets monthly with the presence of foreign ministers from the twenty-seven member states of the European Union and a representative of the European Commission.