Wing 702: Inside the secrets of the Muslim Brotherhood’s den in Britain
Nothing suggests that the dilapidated building on London’s North Circular Road houses, behind a closed door, a wing with no external identity to indicate what lies inside.
“Crown House” is an office building not far from the iconic arch of Wembley Stadium in the British capital. On the seventh floor, after passing through a dimly lit corridor, one reaches Wing 702, marked only by a brass plaque fixed to the door.
According to The National, this outwardly neglected wing hosts one of the most dangerous activities linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, concealing within it the secrets of the group’s den in London.
Last week, the latest individual connected to the address of this office was added to sanctions lists. Zaher Barawi, according to the U.S. Treasury Department, is accused of being a senior official and founding member of the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), an entity that is also under sanctions.
When The National visited Crown House, there were few visible signs of activity. A woman working in a neighboring company said she could not recall seeing anyone enter or leave, nor had she noticed anyone inside the office.
There are no company logos or branding to indicate what lies behind the closed door, which is shut to prying eyes and shows no sign of life, the newspaper reported.
Active and dormant
The newspaper notes that, despite the wing’s inconspicuous exterior, it actually serves as the headquarters for a network of individuals and companies, some active and others dormant or dissolved, many of which are targeted by sanctions from the United States and other countries due to their links to the Muslim Brotherhood.
The organic connection between Crown House and the Brotherhood is described as “a product of the way the group has grown and spread over decades. Its operational model relies on a spiral of company registrations and overlapping board memberships, particularly in this location.”
Barawi himself is the director and owner of Asira Media and Public Relations, whose office is located in Wing 702. He is also a trustee of Education for Palestinians, which is likewise registered at the same address.
The U.S. Treasury believes that the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad operates “covertly” on behalf of Hamas and constitutes a “front organization” for the Palestinian movement designated as a terrorist group in the United Kingdom, asserting that it “operates under its direction.”
In a statement issued last January, the department said that “the strategic and tactical aspects of the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad’s activities are directed by Hamas through the placement of key Hamas-linked figures in essential positions within the organization,” including another individual associated with Crown House, Majed al-Zeer.
According to Washington, al-Zeer served as president of the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad and is a prominent Hamas leader in Europe.
Al-Zeer, who holds both British and Jordanian citizenship, was born in Bethlehem and moved to the United Kingdom in 1992. He later founded the Palestinian Return Centre in 1996, which is also based in Crown House, though on a different floor.
The United States has linked al-Zeer to Adel Daghman, described as having overseen Hamas activities in Austria and as one of its leading representatives in Europe, as well as to Mohammed Hannoun, a Hamas member residing in Italy.
Interconnection and overlap
Lorenzo Vidino, director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University and an expert on the Muslim Brotherhood in the West, considers networks of companies like those operating from Crown House to be a “familiar model” in the Brotherhood’s organizational structure.
Vidino told the newspaper that the group’s modus operandi in the United Kingdom and other European countries involves running a matrix of companies that appear and disappear, with managers moving between them.
He explained that “this is a general pattern of how the Brotherhood operates: they establish a large number of companies engaged in a wide range of activities, making them difficult to track.”
He added: “A company is created and then dissolved, allowing them to open bank accounts and finance activities while maintaining two or three degrees of separation between themselves and those activities, thereby keeping their hands clean.”
Former diplomat Sir John Jenkins, for his part, said that the interconnection among individuals is “certainly” a pattern he recognizes from his knowledge of the Muslim Brotherhood, noting that the group’s relationship with terrorism is “complex.”
A slow response
Former British Labour MP Khalid Mahmood believes that one of the main challenges in dealing with the Muslim Brotherhood has been “the slow pace in tracing sources of funding or affiliated organizations.”
Mahmood told The National: “Unfortunately, the authorities have never been able to keep up with the funding, some of which came from abroad, nor have they managed to address it effectively.”
He asked: “Where does the funding come from, and how is it used?”, while also pointing to “open recruitment currently taking place within extremist organizations” linked to the Brotherhood, using Gaza as a recruitment tool by exploiting sympathy.
He warned: “The problem is that you end up with an ever-expanding circle of young Muslims in the United Kingdom, most of them of South Asian origin, becoming drawn into this.”
