EU: Youth participants harassed at event against Islamophobia

On 21 September, representatives from the far-right European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) harassed participants attending the European Action Day Against Islamophobia (EADAI) hosted by Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organisations (FEMYSO) in the European Parliament.

According to a statement by FEMYSO, the ECR representatives attended, participated, and were given the opportunity to ask questions with the disclaimer that identifiable members of the audience could not be photographed or filmed without their consent. Despite this, audience members were filmed and that material was subsequently published publicly on social media channels.

Soon after, the ECR posted on X (formally Twitter) accusing FEMYSO of being linked with the Muslim Brotherhood and called for its funding to be stopped. Far-right French MEP Marion Maréchal, in a post on X  accused FEMYSO of infiltrating the European Parliament and called for a “cordon sanitaire” between the EU institutions and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Maréchal’s public statement is part of a broader campaign against FEMYSO and other Muslim and minority rights organisations, and it repeats previous allegations linking FEMYSO to the Muslim Brotherhood — claims the organisation has repeatedly denied.