Official IESH response to the report: “Muslim Brotherhood and political Islamism in France”.
We bring to the public’s attention that, as part of the preparation of the report entitled “Muslim Brotherhood and Political Islamism in France”, two officials visited the IESH (Institut Européen des Sciences Humaines). Their visit was limited to a general discussion of Islam over lunch with the dean. They didn’t meet our students, teachers or alumni, nor did they conduct any concrete analysis of our teaching, programs or operations. We had the feeling that their visit was more of an administrative formality than a genuine desire to get to know us or find out the truth. There is nothing in this brief, superficial visit to support the serious judgments
made about IESH in this text.
An incriminating report, serving a dynamic of stigmatization
IESH firmly and categorically refutes the accusations made against it in the report. These unfounded accusations are based on approximations, untruths and anecdotal reproaches dating back decades. No serious, concrete and recent facts have been established. What’s more, the curriculum described in the report in no way corresponds to that actually taught by our institute.
Fortunately, many serious academic and journalistic voices have denounced the report’s lack of methodological rigor, its ideological bias and its use of vague notions such as “Islamism”, “frerism”, “separatism” or “entrism”, which are never clearly defined. This semantic confusion stigmatizes all Muslim initiatives, even when they are fully in keeping with the republican framework, and contributes to a general climate of suspicion towards French people of the Muslim faith. No Muslim or Muslim institution feels safe from such accusations any more.
In this context, the IESH is targeted by some not for what it actually does, but for the symbol it represents: a legal, structured, stable Muslim institution committed to the transmission of knowledge. He becomes a target to be shot down as part of a wider project to delegitimize the Muslim presence in France, a
campaign originally driven by influencers and activists who have made the Muslim question their stock in trade.
IESH, a key player in the fight against radicalization
Particularly since the wave of terrorist attacks that our country has experienced, the IESH has been and continues to be a solid and effective bulwark against extremism falsely claiming to be Islam. By training imams, chaplains and teachers who are both rooted in the scholarly tradition and have a keen understanding of contemporary realities, it has helped to defuse radical discourse and offer clear, peaceful reference points, far removed from the logic of rupture and mistrust.
Through the rigor of its teaching, its explicit rejection of all forms of violence and its loyalty to republican principles, the IESH has played and continues to play a vital role in preventing radicalization. It has established itself as one of the few places in France capable of providing a credible intellectual and theological response to the challenges posed by extremism and misunderstanding of religion.
By targeting our institution, the current public authorities are on the wrong track and fighting the wrong battle. They help weaken our nation’s immune response to hatred and violence.
A living institution: today’s IESH is not yesterday’s
Today’s IESH reaffirms loud and clear: it has no direct or indirect links whatsoever with the “Muslim Brotherhood” or with any ideological or political project whatsoever, either in its teaching, its orientations or its partnerships. He doesn’t recognize himself as a “Muslim brother”, or as such.
It’s important to remember that no institution can be forced to be “frozen” in its history. Like all living structures, IESH has evolved over time: in its direction, in its pedagogical make-up, and in the values it embodies. To judge today’s institute on the basis of elements isolated from the past, exaggerated and taken
out of context, is to ignore the natural and legitimate evolution of any institution. On the other hand, we cannot be held accountable for a history that does not reflect our current reality.
Regularly inspected for years by the relevant authorities, IESH has never been the subject of a single serious or reprehensible report. The remarks made concerned minor points that had nothing to do with the heart of the company’s mission. Yet some have been used as a pretext to seriously and disproportionately suspend structuring educational activities, such as our summer camps.
Today, the Institute is continually targeted in a climate of disinformation, “fake news” and increasing stigmatization.
This unjustified relentlessness has led to serious and intolerable threats, which we take very seriously, to the physical integrity of our staff and students.
It’s up to the public authorities to uphold the law – all the law and nothing but the law – and not to echo conspiracy theories. Equality of treatment between citizens is a fundamental republican requirement, without which feelings of injustice and exclusion inevitably arise.
IESH will pursue its mission with determination and serenity. Faithful to its principles of openness and transparency, the European Institute of Human Sciences remains fully prepared to welcome any independent, neutral and serious audit. Journalists, researchers and institutions will be able to objectively verify its operation, governance, premises and educational programs.
Faced with the ignorance that feeds fear, fuels hatred and leads to violence, we respond with the strength of knowledge, the light of ethics and constant fidelity to our values.
IESH
Saint-Léger-de-Fougeret, 01/06/2025
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