French Ministry of the Interior dissolves the European Institute of Human Sciences
The European Institute of Human Sciences (IESH), which trains imams in France, has been dissolved by the Council of Ministers at the request of Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau.
Announcing the decision on Wednesday, Retailleau hailed it as a step against the infiltration of the Brotherhood movement. The government accuses the IESH of promoting radical Islam and legitimizing armed jihad.
Founded in 1992 by the former Union of Islamic Organizations of France (now Muslims of France), the IESH has long faced scrutiny over alleged ties to radical movements.
The move follows the release earlier this year of a report on Islamist infiltration, which warned of a «threat to national cohesion» posed by networks linked to the Muslim Brotherhood in France.
Commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron, the report was vigorously defended by Retailleau, though its methodology sparked debate. The minister pointed to a bottom-up proliferation of Islamism, particularly through associations, including those involved in religious training.
According to the Council of Ministers, IESH was affiliated with the Federation of Muslims of France, a key branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in France. FMF promotes a radical Islamist ideology advocating for a society governed by Islamic law, the ministers added.
In terms of ideology, the decree claims that IESH promotes, including to minors, a radical ideology that legitimizes violent acts against individuals, promotes discrimination, hatred, and violence against non-Muslims, women, and homosexuals and which justifies holy war (jihad).
In late 2024, police searched its Nièvre premises as part of an investigation by the Central Office for the Repression of Major Financial Delinquency (OCRGDF) into suspected undeclared foreign funding, notably from Qatar. According to AFP, the Nevers prosecutor’s office is investigating alleged «money laundering, breach of trust, and failure to declare foreign funding» under France’s 2021 anti-separatism law.
The IESH, however, rejects the accusations. Dean Larabi Becheri told AFP there was nothing substantiated, insisting that since the 2021 law, we have received no foreign donations. The last one, from Qatar, dates back to 2018, and it was declared. He added that the institute’s mission was to train French-style imams to prevent radicalism.
