The Muslim Brotherhood’s representation for education in France… What do you know about the National Federation for Private Islamic Education?
The Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of French law, which permits religious communities to open schools teaching the official curriculum of the Ministry of Education in France, in addition to teaching religious subjects prohibited by the secularism law of 1905. This led the Muslim Brotherhood to establish the National Federation for Private Islamic Education (Fnem) in 2014.
Through this federation, the Muslim Brotherhood has become something of the official representative of private Islamic education, and they participate in official parliamentary and governmental sessions to discuss religious education issues directed towards Muslims. The issue of official representation for Muslims is one of the main goals of the group’s activities in Europe and a manifestation of their empowerment.
In the first definition of this institution, according to the Arab Center for Extremism Studies, it is a union that includes private Islamic schools and institutions in France, established in 2014 to enhance and develop the private French Islamic education sector. It combines academic excellence with the fundamental values of Islam. It is the first representative body for Islamic education in France and follows the Union of Islamic Organizations in France (currently Muslims of France), the French branch of the international organization of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The federation, which includes about 30 private Islamic schools, aims to be an official contact with the state to defend the interests of the Muslim community in the field of education. It also pressures for increased opportunities for private Islamic schools to obtain contracts with the Ministry of Education to benefit from government funding, similar to public schools. The federation aims to consolidate private Islamic educational institutions in France within a single organizational framework to concentrate efforts and expertise, and to address resource shortages, funding limitations, and other organizational difficulties faced by free schools with an Islamic orientation.
The federation funds its activities through donations from the Muslim community, non-governmental organizations in France and Europe, as well as support from the Muslim Brotherhood through the Union of Islamic Organizations in France.
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The federation is led by Makhlouf Mamache, who also holds the position of Deputy President of the Union of Islamic Organizations in France, responsible for private Islamic education in the union. He is one of the prominent figures of the Muslim Brotherhood in France.
On the sidelines of the establishment of the Brotherhood‘s Federation, in 2016, the “European Federation for Private Islamic Education” was also established, affiliated with the Turkish movement Millî Görüş (National Vision), which is considered the European branch of the Turkish political Islamic movement. It was founded in 1969 by the Turkish Islamist, Necmettin Erbakan. The main goal of the Turkish Federation is to “create a network of institutions across France and then Europe,” and it initially included around 19 educational institutions within France.
