Report warns Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups in Spain exploiting integration funds

A media report has warned that organizations linked to the Muslim Brotherhood in Spain are exploiting government aid allocated for integration and interfaith dialogue projects to expand their influence within society. 

These warnings come amid growing European debate over the spread of political Islam within institutions, and questions about whether public funding for associations is sufficiently monitored to prevent its use for political or ideological agendas.

According to a report by the Visegrád 24 platform, cited by Al Arabiya, organizations connected to the Brotherhood in Spain have benefited from public assistance at the national, regional, and local levels through projects focused on integration, interfaith dialogue, and community work.

The report said that cooperation with two Islamic relief organizations—Islamic Relief Spain and Human Appeal Spain—has been under scrutiny, noting that these relationships have helped strengthen the Brotherhood's public presence by facilitating access to local communities and enabling affiliated groups to present themselves as moderate reference associations.

The report noted that attention to the Brotherhood's history in Europe usually centers on the UK, France, Germany, and Belgium, while Spain receives much less focus. It added that supporters of the Brotherhood network themselves envision scenarios for a future return to the "Andalusian Empire," the historical name for the Iberian Peninsula during its Islamic era.

The report also cited counterterrorism experts such as José María Zuloaga, who have previously warned that the Brotherhood represents a "hidden threat" relying on medium- and long-term strategies to infiltrate Spanish society through a network of institutions, rather than operating as a formal, organized group.

Counterterrorism expert Zuloaga believes that an example of this regional influence appeared in Catalonia, where the Brotherhood is accused of exploiting legal loopholes to expand its influence within the local Muslim community.