(National-UAE) France’s European Institute of Social Sciences (IESH), historically linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, has voluntarily disbanded after government accusations of alleged terrorism links and illicit financing, an insider has told the National.
The announcement comes as President Emmanuel Macron intensifies his campaign against Brotherhood-affiliated institutions. The IESH, located in the central region of Burgundy, was officially notified on June 17 [by] the Interior Ministry of its intention to dissolve the institute, which educated about 200 students annually in Quranic studies, Islamic theology and the Arabic language. The ministry simultaneously froze IESH’s assets.
In response, the institute’s board opted to shutter the centre pre-emptively and appealed the decision, saying in a press statement that [its] closure would be a “negative signal sent to a whole section of society invested in civil peace and living together.”
