Irish MPs push government to take steps against Muslim Brotherhood's local stronghold

Irish officials are facing mounting calls to investigate claims of interference by the Muslim Brotherhood in the republic’s mosques and Islamic centres.

Senior members of parliament have urged the government to examine how the global movement has sought to assume a representative role for Ireland’s estimated 100,000-strong Muslim population, as reported by The National News.

Independent Senator Sharon Keogan told a parliamentary session that the footprint of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is banned across its home region, has expanded in Ireland — a development she said has not been addressed by the government.

The senator referred to a prolonged dispute that has unfolded both in Irish courts and in the media over the voluntary closure of a mosque in one of Dublin’s wealthiest districts.

The dispute concerns control of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland in Clonskeagh, in the south of the capital, which escalated in April when a crowd confronted mosque management following its temporary closure.

Legal proceedings over control of the mosque have reached the High Court, but judges have directed the parties toward mediation. A hearing this month requested additional submissions to prepare the case.

The centre’s new board stated it is reviewing the operations of the Quranic school, while the decision to temporarily close the mosque is being contested by the long-serving imam.

Senator Keogan pointed to measures in Europe, where countries such as France and, most recently, Italy, have acted to curb Muslim Brotherhood activities.

“Across Europe it is heavily restricted and monitored, yet here in Ireland we face the serious danger that our government has allowed this ideological network to flourish unchecked,” she said.

Founded in Egypt in the 1920s, the Brotherhood is one of the world’s most influential Islamist organizations, according to the Council on Foreign Relations’ description. The group blends religious teaching with political activism and social welfare programs.

The organization rose to national power during the Arab Spring in the early 2010s, winning Egypt’s presidency. However, a military coup in 2013 ended its rule and led to the imprisonment of thousands of its members, with current President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi taking a firm stance against their resurgence.

As part of a broad crackdown on political opposition, the Egyptian government has designated the Brotherhood a terrorist organization — a classification also adopted by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

By Nazrin Sadigova