Through the Gateway of Islamic Relief… Is German Taxpayer Money Ending Up in the Pockets of the Muslim Brotherhood?
The German government is facing increasing pressure following investigations that revealed that Islamic Relief, an organization linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, received funding that allegedly benefited extremist networks.
According to the introduction of a parliamentary inquiry submitted a few days ago by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, “the German Federal Foreign Office allocated substantial financial support to Islamic Relief over several years, despite the government having already informed Parliament in 2017 of the organization’s connections to the Muslim Brotherhood.”
According to the inquiry, there is specific evidence suggesting that some of these funds may have reached areas that were under the control of terrorist groups such as the Al-Nusra Front in previous years through Islamic Relief.
The inquiry also cites statements by German expert Rebecca Schönenbach, who said: “Ten years ago, the Al-Nusra Front controlled northern Syria. Therefore, it can be assumed that some of its members may have received part of these German funds.”
Despite several audit reports and official warnings, financial support for Islamic Relief in Germany continued.
For many years, the federal government kept confidential an audit report issued in 2019 by the Federal Court of Auditors. The report was only made public after a successful legal challenge, although certain sections remained redacted.
Following the lawsuit, the judiciary criticized, on the one hand, the lack of adequate financial oversight of projects funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.
On the other hand, the judges found that the Foreign Office had violated the government’s directive prohibiting extremist organizations from benefiting from public funding or government advantages.
The judicial report stated: “Even in the context of financing the current Islamic Relief project, the Foreign Office recognized the organization as eligible for grants despite warnings issued by the German intelligence services, thereby acting contrary to official guidelines.”
The parliamentary inquiry calls on the German government to clarify whether German taxpayers’ money may have been misused and to explain the extent to which extremist structures may have indirectly benefited from German public funds.
Investigation
In recent days, several media outlets have reported the findings of a judicial investigation conducted as part of a lawsuit filed against the government five years ago, seeking disclosure of the reasons behind and outcomes of funding Islamic Relief’s projects.
According to the judicial audit, the German Federal Foreign Office “was unable to explain the basis upon which it concluded that Islamic Relief enjoyed a good reputation as a non-governmental humanitarian organization,” yet it continued to provide funding for several years.
The investigation also accused the Foreign Office of disregarding the government’s “Comprehensive Strategy for Combating Terrorist Organizations,” which instructs ministries “to refrain from supporting organizations whenever information relevant to the protection of the constitutional order exists.”
In a second report, the Federal Court of Auditors (BRH) concluded that the Foreign Office had supported the organization “without first ensuring the soundness of its procedures or the effectiveness of its expenditure.”
Although Islamic Relief has stated that it conducted an internal review and severed its ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, those connections reportedly still exist, according to the German newspaper Die Welt, citing Germany’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
The allocation of German government funding to Islamic Relief has generated widespread criticism within Germany’s political circles and has prompted numerous parliamentary inquiries over recent years.
Islamic Relief Worldwide has been associated with “circles linked to the Muslim Brotherhood” since the publication of the 2009 report by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany’s domestic intelligence authority in the state of Baden-Württemberg.
In response to a parliamentary question submitted by former Green Party member Volker Beck, the federal government informed Parliament in January 2017 that Islamic Relief Germany (IRD) maintained close ties with the German Muslim Community Organization, regarded as the Muslim Brotherhood’s branch in Germany.
