The Rise of “Islamo-Clientelism”

French Member of the European Parliament Nicolas Bay has called for the Muslim Brotherhood to be banned across Europe, warning that Islamist movements have embedded themselves in European society through associations, religious institutions and local political networks.

Speaking in an extensive interview with Visegrad24, Bay argued that European governments have underestimated the Muslim Brotherhood because its representatives often operate through apparently respectable community organisations rather than openly extremist groups.

“One must not believe that the Islamists who thrive in our countries and who constitute a threat all look and dress like Bin Laden,” Bay said. “Unfortunately, it is more complicated than that.”

According to the French politician, the Brotherhood’s strategy involves gradually penetrating Europe’s economic, social and political institutions. He said organisations linked to the movement frequently present themselves as providers of educational support, sporting activities or community services while pursuing a wider political and religious project.

Bay accused politicians from both the left and the mainstream right of enabling the growth of such networks, either through naivety or because they viewed organised Muslim communities as a potential electoral constituency. He claimed this had allowed Islamist associations in France and elsewhere to receive public funding, gain access to community facilities and expand their influence within migrant-majority neighbourhoods.

“There is an Islamo-clientelism that also affects a lot of mayors [and] presidents of local authorities,” Bay said, accusing some local officials of displaying “both cynicism and cowardice.”

“Remigration should not be Taboo”

A substantial part of the interview focused on immigration and the increasingly prominent debate over “remigration.” Bay said he supports remigration if the term is understood as the return of foreign nationals who entered illegally, overstayed their visas, committed crimes or no longer met the conditions of their residence permits.

“For me, the term ‘remigration’ is the return to their country of origin of those who have nothing to do in our countries,” he said. “And I am in favour of it.”

He identified illegal migrants as the first group that should be removed, arguing that European countries must eliminate routes through which unlawful entrants can later regularise their status.

Bay said the possibility of regularisation acts as a pull factor by encouraging migrants to believe that, once they reach European territory, they will eventually be allowed to remain.

“First of all, those who entered illegally, of course,” he said. “They must have only one right, and that is to be expelled.”

He also called for the removal of foreign nationals who commit crimes after receiving permission to live in France. Residence permits, he argued, should not create an unconditional or permanent right to stay.

However, Bay stopped short of advocating the wholesale revocation of acquired citizenship. Any extension of the grounds for withdrawing French nationality, he said, would have to comply with fundamental legal principles and individual freedoms.

“Remigration should not be taboo,” Bay said, describing it as a lawful attempt to reverse what he called Europe’s present “migratory anarchism.”

The Demographic Threat

Bay linked the rise of Islamism in France to decades of mass immigration beginning with family reunification policies introduced during the 1970s.

He argued that France’s welfare system, comparatively accessible route to citizenship and membership of the borderless Schengen Area have made the country particularly attractive to migrants entering Europe through Spain, Italy, Greece and the Balkan route.

The MEP warned that sustained immigration at its present level could eventually turn indigenous populations into minorities in parts of their own countries. He defended the use of the controversial term “Great Replacement,” arguing that it describes a demographic risk rather than a conspiracy theory.

Bay pointed to his experience in Molenbeek, Brussels, where he said he, his camera crew and security personnel had been driven away by residents who told them that the area belonged to their community.

“This is a territorial war,” he said, arguing that although France has not been entirely overwhelmed, some neighbourhoods and cities already have been.

Bay also invoked Jean Raspail’s The Camp of the Saints and Michel Houellebecq’s Submission, describing both novels as prophetic warnings about the cultural and political consequences of uncontrolled mass migration.

Ban Foreign Funding for Mega-Mosques

Bay also demanded an end to foreign funding for large Islamic religious projects in Europe.

The discussion focused on a major mosque under construction in Strasbourg, which Bay connected to the Turkish Islamist organisation Millî Görüş. He described monumental mosque projects as demonstrations of political power rather than purely religious initiatives.

“We must ban foreign funding, we must ban monumental mosques, and we must therefore confine the practice of Islam to the private sphere,” he said.

Bay stressed that Muslims should remain free to practise their religion. However, he argued that Islamic places of worship should respect the architectural and cultural character of historically Christian European countries.

“Muslims who wish to honour their God must have the possibility of doing so,” he said. “Of course, we support religious freedom.”

Nevertheless, Bay argued that places of worship should operate “without ostentation” and without monumental minarets. He presented the Strasbourg project as part of a wider pattern of Turkish religious and political influence inside Europe.

Bay: Al Jazeera Is an “Islamist Vector”

Asked about proposals from other European lawmakers to ban Al Jazeera, Bay said he supported preventing the broadcaster from operating freely in Europe.

He described Al Jazeera as an “Islamist vector” rather than a conventional journalistic organisation, arguing that it should not receive the same treatment as an independent media outlet.

Bay acknowledged the importance of freedom of expression but said that principle should not oblige European states to accommodate foreign-funded channels that, in his assessment, advance an Islamist political agenda.

“As far as Al Jazeera is concerned, I share the position of my Greek colleague and friend,” he said. “It is a media outlet that should not be allowed to broadcast freely in Europe when it is an Islamist vector.”

The French lawmaker also criticised Europe’s relationship with Qatar, pointing to what he described as the country’s links with the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, as well as the corruption scandal in the European Parliament commonly known as Qatargate.

“We must stop rolling out the red carpet for Qatar, as we have been for years and years,” he said.

UAE Is a “Reliable Ally” Against Islamism

Bay argued that Europe must distinguish between governments in the Muslim world that combat Islamist movements and those that support them. He singled out the United Arab Emirates as an example of a dependable partner.

“The United Arab Emirates are an ally, a friend, a reliable ally of the European countries,” Bay said, praising the country for opposing the Muslim Brotherhood.

He contrasted the UAE’s position with that of Qatar, which he accused of supporting Islamist organisations abroad.

“If we want to eradicate Islamism in Europe, in France, in Belgium, then we must start by ceasing to pamper those who are the most active supporters and financiers from abroad of this Islamist movement on European soil,” he said.

Turkey Is “Behaving Like an Adversary”

Bay reserved some of his strongest criticism for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He called for Turkey’s EU accession process to be formally terminated and criticised the funding Ankara has received through European institutions and migration-control arrangements.

Bay argued that Turkey has used migration as leverage against the EU while benefiting from extensive access to European markets through the customs union. He also cited Turkey’s occupation of northern Cyprus, its support for Azerbaijan against Armenia and the activities of Turkish-backed religious and political organisations inside Europe.

“Turkey is clearly behaving like an adversary,” Bay said, characterising Erdoğan’s government as an Islamist regime that Europe must confront rather than continue treating as a prospective partner.

Europe will not defeat Islamism solely through domestic measures, he concluded. It must also adopt a coherent foreign policy that clearly distinguishes between allies committed to combating political Islam and governments seeking to expand Islamist influence on European soil.

“Geopolitical coherence consists of choosing our allies and identifying those who are our enemies,” Bay said.