Tech & Terrorism: Officials Call For Ban Of ‘Euro Fatwa’ App Created By Muslim Brotherhood

(New York, N.Y.) – Google and Apple are facing renewed scrutiny from European officials for their failure to remove—and ban in entirety—the Muslim Brotherhood-sponsored app, Euro Fatwa. The intensifying pressure comes after months of  repeated government warnings that the app contains hate speech and potentially serves as a tool for Islamist radicalization. Euro Fatwa was developed by the European Council for Fatwa and Research, an organization founded by Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an Islamist theologian and the unofficial chief ideologue of the Muslim Brotherhood.

 

Despite Euro Fatwa’s clear ties to an extremist who has called for the murder of Americans, gay people, and Jews, Google and Apple have refused to take down the app. Through verified accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, as well as his personal websites, Qaradawi releases his writings, speeches, and fatwas to promote extreme positions justifying violent terrorism, call for the murder of U.S. citizens in Iraq and for Muslims around the world to travel to Syria to take up arms.

 

Counter Extremism Project (CEP) senior director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler admonished major tech companies for their inability to sustainably combat online extremism, including dangerous apps like Euro Fatwa. In a conversation with The National, Dr. Schindler said, “Self-regulation has clearly failed and existing regulations should be strengthened. As long as there is not a more stringent regulatory framework, including fines that are significant, and far more transparency in the industry, issues such as the Euro Fatwa App will remain unresolved.”

 

Previously, CEP spotlighted Qaradawi’s significant presence on social media. CEP has also documented 15 extremist individuals and organizations with ties to Qaradawi. Qaradawi has declared that the “abduction and killing of Americans in Iraq is a [religious] obligation” and defended suicide bombings as “heroic operations of martyrdom.” Qaradawi has also called for Muslims around the world to become foreign fighters in Syria and supported “jihad until death” against Israel. Qaradawi-led organizations have provided ideological and material support to terrorist groups. The U.S. government designated the Qaradawi-chaired Union of Good charity in 2008 for providing financial support to Hamas.

 

To read CEP’s Extremism Spotlight on Yusuf al-Qaradawi, please click here.

 

To read CEP’s resource, Yusuf al-Qaradawi’s Ties To Extremists, please click here.

 

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