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FEMYSOFEMYSO

10 November 2026

Letter to Roberta Metsola: Serious concerns over European Parliament debate and resolution on “Islamist Entryism”

10 November 2026

To: Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament

Dear President Metsola,

We, the undersigned civil society organisations, are writing to raise our serious concerns about the racist and Islamophobic language used by members of the European Parliament during the debate on the resolution on “Islamist entryism” and the Muslim Brotherhood on 7 October, in violation of Rule 10 of the European Parliament’s Rules of Procedure.[1]

During the debate, several members of the European Parliament used defamatory language, hate speech, and incitement to discrimination, in violation of Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights.[2] The harmful rhetoric included accusing Muslims of “infiltrating our democratic system like a creeping poison,”[3] and calls to “combat Islam’s influence on our daily lives and on our society”[4] and to close prayer rooms, ban headscarves and halal food, and deport Muslims who “place the Quran above the constitution.”[5] This rhetoric further fuels hatred, stigmatisation, and criminalisation of millions of people across Europe based on their perceived religion or origin, at a time when these communities are already facing an alarming rise in discrimination, hostility, and violence.[6]

Concerningly, during the debate several members singled out the Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organisations (FEMYSO) – also named in the resolution and in the European Parliament’s press release.[7] One MEP likened the organisation to a “Trojan horse” and accused it of infiltrating European Institutions.[8] FEMYSO categorically rejects these defamatory accusations. Far from the characterisation presented, FEMYSO has had longstanding engagement and participation with the European Parliament and with other EU institutions. Since 2016, it has participated in the

European Youth Event and has been subjected to harassment and attacks during the EYE in 2021,[9]

2023,[10] and 2025.[11] In September 2026, it held the European Action Day Against Islamophobia (EADAI) inside the Parliament, alongside an MEP, during which ECR representatives harassed its participants.[12]

Furthermore, we are seriously concerned that this Islamophobic resolution seeks to delegitimise civil society by singling out anti-racism organisations, including FEMYSO and the European Network Against Racism (ENAR),[13] due to their work addressing Islamophobia and advocating for the equal access to rights for Muslim people, including youth and students, across Europe. This attempt goes against EU values, in particular Articles 2 and 11 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU).

The adoption of this resolution could lead to restricting the participation, access and funding of these leading organisations working with Muslim youth and communities. It relies on vague and unsubstantiated allegations – repeatedly denied and debunked by credible and established sources[14] – as a justification for restricting an organisation’s access to European institutions and funding. Concerningly, it treats the ordinary activities of civil society as possible indicators of “entryism”. CSOs, including youth organisations, routinely take part in public debate, advocate policy positions, and engage in democratic decision-making. These are normal and desirable features of an open society, not evidence of wrongdoing.

It is also important to note that ENAR recently lost its structural funding from the European

Commission.[15] Against this backdrop, the resolution explicitly calls for EU funding to be withheld from ENAR and other organisations named in the text, raising further concerns about the mounting political and financial pressures facing independent anti-racist civil society organisations in Europe.

Taken together, this resolution creates a circular dynamic: an organisation documents anti-Muslim racism and discrimination; its work is subsequently characterised as the “instrumentalisation of antidiscrimination frameworks”; and that very characterisation is then used to justify its exclusion from the institutions it seeks to hold accountable. In doing so, this debate and the resolution legitimises, normalises, and institutionalises the harassment and marginalisation of civil society organisations whose work challenges racism and discrimination.[16]

Furthermore, the resolution and the broader political discourse surrounding its adoption undermines recent initiatives of the European Commission, such as the EU Anti-Racism Strategy 2026-2030 – which explicitly recognises anti-Muslim hatred as a form of racism[17] – and the EU Civil Society

Strategy.[18] It also runs counter to the Council of the EU’s recently adopted Conclusions on combating racism which recognises anti-Muslim hatred as a specific form of discrimination that requires sustained attention in national and EU-level strategies.[19] This is particularly concerning given the findings of the EU FRA 2024 report, Being Muslim in the EU, which revealed that 47% of Muslim respondents had experienced racial discrimination in the preceding five years.[20]

In light of this, we call on you to urgently condemn the incitement to discrimination and hate speech by members of the Parliament and reject any calls to criminalise or discredit Muslim civil society organisations packaged as a “strategy to counter Islamist entryism” by:

  • Formally taking necessary action in response to the hate speech within the debate, as per rules 183 and 184 of the Rules of Procedure and condemn the targeting of Muslim civil society.
  • Arranging a meeting with FEMYSO, CCIE, and ENAR representatives to discuss the resolution, the allegations concerning the organisations, and the implications for Muslim participation in European democratic life.

We urge you, as President of the European Parliament, to ensure that the principles of antidiscrimination and equality that the Parliament seeks to defend are reflected in its treatment of all parts of European civil society.

We look forward to your response.

  1. #DiasporaVote!
  2. Academia Cidadã
  3. aditus foundation
  4. Afrogrooves
  5. agisra e.V.
  6. Agora Association  
  7. Akto – Human Rights and Democracy
  8. Altera APS
  9. ALT-TEXT
  10. Amnesty International  
  11. Arci  
  12. Asian Voices Europe
  13. Asociacion cultural Baizara
  14. Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF)
  15. Basket Pour Toutes
  16. Bruxelles Panthères
  17. Bulgarian Fund for Women
  18. CCIE
  19. Centre for Muslims Rights in Denmark
  20. Centrum demokratického vzdělávání
  21. Changemakers Lab
  22. CIVICUS
  23. Civil Liberties Union for Europe
  24. COMEX-ARC
  25. CONCORD
  26. COSPE
  27. Council for Inclusion and Against Islamophobia in Belgium  
  28. Défense des enfants International Belgique
  29. Dokustelle Islamophobia and Antimuslim racism
  30. EL*C – EuroCentralAsian Lesbian* Community
  31. End FGM EU
  32. Equinox
  33. EQUITAS (European Network Against Islamophobia)
  34. Erev Rav
  35. ERGO Network
  36. Ethnic Debate Forum
  37. European Civic Forum (ECF)
  38. European Disability Forum
  39. European Jews for Palestine
  40. European Movement Italy
  41. European Network Against Racism (ENAR)
  42. European Network on Independent Living  
  43. European Youth Forum
  44. FANTAPOLITICA! X Dalla Parte Giusta della Storia
  45. Federation of Young European Greens
  46. Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organisations (FEMYSO)
  47. Fundación FÜNDEC
  48. Fundacja Inicjatywa Dom Otwarty
  49. Giolli società cooperativa sociale
  50. Greek Forum of Refugees
  51. Hand in Hand tegen racisme vzw
  52. HeForShe Coimbra
  53. Human Rights House Zagreb
  54. Humanity Diaspo ONG
  55. IDPAD Coalition UK
  56. ILGA Portugal
  57. ILGA Europe
  58. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
  59. International Planned Parenthood Federation – European Network (IPPF EN)
  60. Irídia – Human Rights Defence Centre
  61. JAA Jewish Antizionist Alliance Sweden  
  62. Jeunes Européens – France
  63. Jewish Network for Palestine
  64. Jøder for Retfærdig Fred (af 5784), Denmark (Jews for Just Peace)
  65. Judeobolschewiener*innen (JBW)
  66. KEERFA Movement United Against Racism and Fascist Threat
  67. KISA – Equality, Support, Antiracism  
  68. Läkare mot rasism
  69. Lallab
  70. L’APEStE
  71. LDH (Ligue des droits de l’Homme/droits humains)
  72. Leopold Weiss Institute
  73. Melting Pot ODV
  74. Moltivolti association APS
  75. Muslim Rights Watch België
  76. Muslim Youth Federation – FJM ASBL
  77. Netherlands Helsinki Committee
  78. neue deutsche organisationen – das postmigrantische netzwerk e.V. (ndo)
  79. No Name Kitchen  
  80. Northern Ireland Council for Racial Equality  
  81. NOVACT
  82. Nyt Europa  
  83. OBESSU
  84. OII Europe (Organisation Intersex International Europe)
  85. ONE PEOPLE ASBL
  86. Papa-Figos Unidos
  87. Peace Institute Ljubljana
  88. Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM)
  89. Portuguese Association for Diversity and Inclusion (APPDI)
  90. Portuguese Platform of Development NGOs
  91. Protect Human Rights Defenders
  92. Racism Search  
  93. Red Acoge
  94. SOLIDAR
  95. Solidary Wheels No Borders For Human Rights
  96. SOS Racism Denmark
  97. Statewatch
  98. ternYpe International Roma Youth Network  
  99. TGEU
  100. The Shelter Students Refuge
  101. The Wheel
  102. United African Women Organization
  103. Watch the Med Alarm Phone
  104. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders

[1] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/RULES–9–2023–11–01_EN.pdf

[2] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/CRE–10–2026–10–07–ITM–016_EN.html  

[3] Assita Kanko (ECR): https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/CRE–10–2026–10–07–ITM016_EN.html

[4] Kristoffer Storm (ECR): https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/CRE–10–2026–10–07–ITM016_EN.html

[5] Majbritt Birkholm (PfE): https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/CRE–10–2026–10–07–ITM016_EN.html

[6] Fundamental Rights Report, Challenges and Achievements, FRA (2025). https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fundamental–rights–report_challenges–andachievements_2025.pdf

[7] https://oeil.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/en/document–summary?id=1919148  

[8] Céline Imart (EPP): https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/CRE–10–2026–10–07–ITM016_EN.html

[9] https://femyso.org/letter–to–the–president–of–the–european–parliament/; 

[10] https://femyso.org/statement-in-response-to-racist-attacks-at-european-youth-event-eye-2023/ ; European Parliament Greens/EFA Group letter: https://extranet.greens-efaservice.eu/public/media/file/1/8423 

[11] https://www.youthforum.org/news/statement–hate–and–discrimination–have–no–place–in–europe; https://civicspacewatch.eu/alert/eu–far–right–harass–muslim–youth–at–european–parliament–event/   

[12] https://civicspacewatch.eu/alert/eu–youth–participants–harassed–at–event–against–islamophobia/

[13] ENAR continues to play a crucial role in promoting equality in Europe and has helped deliver the Race Equality Directive, the Employment Directive, pushed for the Anti–Racism Action Plan after George Floyd’s murder, and served as a key stakeholder for the European Commission’s first Anti–Racism Strategy.

[14] New Yorker Investigation “The Dirty Secrets of a Smear Campaign” https://femyso.org/femyso–newyorker–statement/, https://femyso.org/investigation–statement/,

https://www.comiteri.be/images/pdf/onderzoeksverslagen/TO%20Freres%20Musulmans_UNCLASS_FR_ final%20Commission.pdf, https://www.mediapart.fr/en/journal/france/220525/critical–report–muslimbrotherhood–could–rekindle–sense–fear–france–says–expert 

[15] https://www.enar–eu.org/europes–largest–pan–european–anti–racism–network–enar–loses–europeancommission–funding/

[16] https://civicspacewatch.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/JOINT-STATEMENT-NGOs-condemnEuropean-Parliament-resolution-on-countering-Islamist-entryism.pdf

[17] EU Anti Racism Strategy, pages: 2, 3, 5, 14, and 17: commission.europa.eu/document/download/f4acc4d4-689e-4db8-8c89c7243b76ab88_en?filename=JUST_template_comingsoon_standard_0.pdf

[18] https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/8c30975d–bc1c–4415–8dcda71cb28f3662_en?filename=JUST_template_comingsoon_standard.pdf  

[19] Draft Council Conclusions on combating racism and related forms of hatred and discrimination in the European Union: Safeguarding Fundamental Rights and European Values, October 2026: https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST–13811–2026–INIT/en/pdf

[20] https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2024/being–muslim–eu