Investigations and media reports have exposed UAE-linked efforts aimed at shaping perceptions of Muslims in Europe and targeting Islamic institutions, as European political rhetoric increasingly calls for greater monitoring of Muslim organisations, their funding and their civil society activities.
The European People’s Party adopted a resolution during a political assembly in Vienna at the end of June titled “Interference of Political Islam in European Democratic Processes”. The resolution called for “mapping Islamist organisations networks”, monitoring what it described as undesirable foreign funding, and ending European support for movements it considers extremist.
The resolution has raised concerns that suspicion could extend beyond specific individuals or groups to encompass Muslim religious and civil society activity more broadly, particularly as collective Muslim participation is increasingly framed through political and security concerns.
From “Stop Extremism” to UAE Influence Operations
Indications of foreign involvement in this debate date back to 2017, when the “Stop Extremism” movement emerged as a European citizens’ initiative seeking measures against what it called extremism.
Austrian media investigations subsequently examined the campaign’s financing and links involving individuals connected to the UAE, placing Abu Dhabi under scrutiny over efforts to influence European debate surrounding Islam, Muslims and political Islam. Those involved in the initiative denied that it was financed by foreign states.
Further revelations emerged through the “Abu Dhabi Secrets” investigations, which documented a UAE-backed intelligence and influence operation in Europe involving Swiss private intelligence firm Alp Services.
The investigation found that between 2017 and 2020, Alp Services provided UAE intelligence services with the names of more than 1,000 individuals and over 400 organisations across 18 European countries that were alleged to have links to the Muslim Brotherhood. The investigation described a wider effort to advance Abu Dhabi’s position towards the Brotherhood and those it considered connected to it in Western countries.
These efforts have coincided with the growing use of terms such as “political Islam” and “Islamist entryism” within European political discourse. In some cases, critics argue that such terminology expands suspicion beyond particular organisations or individuals and towards Muslim institutions and networks participating in public life.
Mapping Muslim Organisations
The EPP leadership’s call to map networks of Islamist organisations has also brought renewed attention to Austria’s controversial “Islam Map”, a digital project listing Muslim institutions across the country.
The map drew criticism from Muslim organisations and civil society groups, which warned that identifying the locations of Islamic institutions could stigmatise Muslims and expose them to threats. A Council of Europe representative also cited the project as a negative example capable of fuelling discrimination.
Rights advocates and anti-racism organisations have warned that policies based on collective surveillance of Muslim institutions could restrict freedom of religion, assembly and association, particularly if membership in an Islamic organisation or participation in organised religious activity itself becomes grounds for suspicion.
Such concerns extend to Muslims engaged in civil society work, social and religious activities, and public campaigns against racism and discrimination. Critics warn that as definitions of “political Islam” expand, these activities could increasingly become subject to political or security scrutiny.
Anti-Racism Groups Push Back
The intensifying rhetoric has also coincided with allegations by European politicians linking anti-racism organisations to the Muslim Brotherhood.
The European Network Against Racism rejected such allegations against itself as baseless and warned that accusations of Muslim Brotherhood affiliation were being used to delegitimise organisations challenging racism and Islamophobia.
ENAR said the EPP resolution and related political rhetoric risk creating a framework in which Muslim identity, association and civic participation are treated with suspicion.
The developments have opened a wider debate over the influence of foreign states on European policies towards Islam, particularly amid documented investigations into UAE-backed operations targeting individuals and organisations alleged to have Brotherhood connections.
In this context, the UAE’s role forms part of a broader political and media struggle extending well beyond its borders, reaching into Europe where the interests of governments, political parties and international actors intersect over the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic movements engaged in civil society.
Critics warn that transforming Islam into an increasingly securitised political issue could narrow the space available to European Muslims, particularly when religious and social institutions are treated as networks requiring surveillance simply because of their Islamic identity or activities.
The debate surrounding Muslims in Europe is therefore expanding beyond questions of violent extremism into the monitoring of religious institutions, funding and civil society engagement, while allegations concerning Emirati financing and influence continue to be documented, investigated and contested.
