Irish government urged to act on Dublin-based Muslim Brotherhood-linked group
Irish government asked why Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi was banned from the country, but a group he founded and which disseminates his teachings is headquartered in Dublin
The Chair of the Muslims Against Antisemitism group has called on the Irish government to act against a Muslim Brotherhood-linked organisation based in their country, asking how they could ban the group’s spiritual leader from entering, yet allow an institution promoting his teachings to operate there.
Ghanem Nuseibeh, Chairman of MAAS, which is based in the UK, wrote to Jim O’Callaghan, Ireland’s Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, regarding a group called the “European Council for Fatwa and Research”, which is based in Dublin.
The council was founded by Yusuf Qaradawi, the former spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. Mr Qaradawi himself was banned from entering Ireland in 2011, as well as the UK and USA and a number of other countries, due to his extremism, which included significant antisemitism and homophobia.
“As Muslims, we believe that antisemitism should be challenged on all fronts, including limiting incitement”, Nusseibeh wrote.
“Much of the antisemitism that has sadly become rampant in some sectors of the Muslim communities in Britain and Europe, including Ireland, is a result of extremist teachings and grossly inappropriate interpretations of Islam.”
Examples of Qaradawi’s antisemitism include describing Jews as worthy of “annihilation”, on a regular show he hosted on Al Jazeera, stating: “Oh Allah, count their numbers, and kill them, down to the very last one.” He described the Holocaust as “divine punishment” on Jews, and saying that it had “put Jews in their place.” In his work Fatawa on Palestine, Qaradawi cited an infamous Hadith which says: “The last day will not come unless you fight Jews. A Jew will hide himself behind stones and trees and stones and trees will say, ‘O servant of Allah, O Muslim, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.”
Qaradawi described the Hadith as one of the miracles of our prophet”, explaining that “[W]e believe that the battle between us and the Jews is coming. Such a battle is not driven by nationalistic causes or patriotic belonging; it is rather driven by religious incentives. This battle is not going to happen between Arabs and Zionists, or between Jews and Palestinians, or between Jews or anybody else. It is between Muslims and Jews as is clearly stated in the hadith. This battle will occur between the collective body of Muslims and the collective body of Jews i.e. all Muslims and all Jews.”
Nusseibeh described how, regarding the council: “its website makes clear that it was founded by Mr Qaradawi. Its social media accounts – including X and Instagram, promote past sermons, books and lectures by Qaradawi…the organisation, based in Dublin, openly promotes the teachings of someone who was banned from entering Ireland for his extremist teachings…these sorts of teachings are the biggest challenge that we face as moderate Muslims fighting extremism and antisemitism.”
A spokesperson for the Irish Ministry of Justice responded saying:
“The Government is determined to stamp out hate-motivated crimes and to protect all minority communities, including Jewish people, from discrimination. This is being actively achieved through legislation, policy implementation and the provision of supports.
“The Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Act 2024 came into effect at the start of 2025. This provides for increased prison sentences for certain crimes, where they are proven to be motivated by hatred, or where hatred is demonstrated based on the identity of the victims. Every hate crime reported to An Garda Síochána is professionally and thoroughly investigated and victims supported during the criminal justice process.
“The Government’s endorsement of the Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism and the IHRA working definition of antisemitism supports our wider commitment to addressing discrimination in all its forms, through implementation of the National Action Plan against Racism 2023-2027.”
The European Council for Fatwa and Research was contacted for comment.
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