An Israeli investigative report has corroborated what members of the Italian Senate have discussed for years: the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) maintains a presence in Italy through five affiliates dominated by an umbrella Islamic organization that lacks official recognition.
Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism report, published in June, identifies the main MB-linked organizations as the Union of Islamic Communities and Organisations in Italy (UCOII), the Young Muslims of Italy (GMI), the Islamic Alliance of Italy (AMI), the Association of Palestinians in Italy (API), and the Bayan Institute.
The UCOII seeks hegemony over Islam in Italy and official recognition by the Italian state.
The UCOII serves as the MB’s flagship organization in Italy, functioning as an umbrella organization covering 122 associations and 80 mosques, and has received approximately €50 million for around 45 projects in Italy from Qatar Charity, the report states. As far back as 2008, Qatar Charity was listed as a “terrorism support entity (TSE)” by the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center because of its “intent and willingness to provide financial support to terrorist organizations willing to attack US persons or interests.”
The charity financed 43 UCOII-affiliated mosques as well as projects in existing Muslim centers in Rome, Piacenza, and elsewhere. Italy’s Ministry of the Interior approved this financial support as part of Article 10 of the National Pact for an Italian Islam, the dossier reported.
Tax-Payer Funding for Islamists
Although UCOII controls about 80 percent of mosques and Islamic centers in Italy and “has aspired to become the principal representative of Muslims in the Italian political arena,” it is not legally recognized by the Italian government. Nevertheless, some of its affiliates benefit substantially from the government’s “5x1000” tax-allocation mechanism, which allows Italian taxpayers to donate 0.5 percent of their tax bill to a charity of their choice, the report noted. The program reportedly allocated €602 million to charities in 2025.
“The arrest of Italian Hamas activist Mohammed Hannoun and the exposure of a Hamas financing network amounting to millions of euros illustrate the inherent risk in exploiting legitimate welfare and charitable systems for extremist purposes,” the report warned.
On December 27, 2025, Italian police arrested Mohammad Hannoun and his associates, accusing them of diverting seven million euros to associations “in Gaza, the Palestinian territories, or Israel, owned, controlled, or linked to Hamas.” Over 71 percent of funds raised under the guise of aid went directly to Hamas or its affiliates, Focus on Western Islamism (FWI) reported.
The Israeli report cited several reports submitted to the Italian Parliament that portrayed UCOII as “tending to encourage violence and terrorism” because it supported the MB and urged Parliament to address this connection and reject the outfit’s request for official recognition. The organizations themselves do not declare any affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, it clarified.
Italian Senate Discusses Brotherhood’s Influence
An investigation by FWI into records of the Italian Senate’s deliberations found more than 180 interventions in the Senate on the MB and aboot 50 interventions on the UCOII.
In October 2024, Senator Raffaele Speranzon questioned the Senate on UCOII’s links with the MB. Speranzon said that Abdellah Redouane, secretary general of the Great Mosque of Rome, had publicly accused UCOII’s honorary president, Mohammed Nour, of being the “founder of the MB in Italy.”
Speranzon noted that UCOII president Yassine Lafram had publicized his meeting with radical preacher Aid al-Qarni on social networks. Al-Qarni has made numerous hostile statements regarding the Jewish people and reportedly influenced the thought of Osama bin Laden.
Sperazon also called out Yassine Baradai, national secretary of UCOII, for denigrating Christianity and Judaism as “heresies” and claiming that “Islam comes to correct the distortions made in the remaining sacred scriptures (Torah and Gospel).”
“We would like to know what links or connections the UCOII has with fundamentalist organizations or representatives of such organizations, including at the international level,” the senator demanded.
In June 2021, 21 senators asked the Interior Minister to respond to credible allegations linking UCOII to the MB, describing the Brotherhood as “an organization that aims to bring Islam back to the center of the political and social life of the Muslim community, with the intent of building a global caliphate.”
Senate questions over the last few years have also included allegations of the Qatar Charity Foundation financing the MB network in Italy, UCOII-affiliated mosques whose leaders are inspired by MB ideology, and, most recently, an urgent call to monitor the activities of the MB and its affiliates—especially those linked with Hamas.
Terrorism Expert Confirms Israeli Report
The Israeli report cites research by Giovanni Giacalone, a terrorism expert at the International Team for the Study of Security Verona, one of the largest networks addressing current and future security challenges.
“The five organizations listed in the Israeli report play different roles, but all remain within the Islamist galaxy active in Italy. Each organization operates autonomously, albeit functionally, within the Islamist network,” Giacalone told FWI. “The UCOII seeks hegemony over Islam in Italy and official recognition by the Italian state.”
Asked if the Israeli report was biased, Giacalone noted that the dossier used sources from the Italian media, the Italian Senate, Italian and international experts, the European Parliament, and, more significantly, websites and social media networks belonging to the Islamist groups and their leaders. He stressed: “What matters is the information, not who publishes it.”
“An Israeli government report is not a verdict. It should be read as a political and open-intelligence document, produced by a country embroiled in a brutal war. But dismissing it as mere propaganda would be too convenient,” an op-ed in the Italian daily Il Foglio argued.
“The point isn’t to criminalize Italian Islam” but “to understand whether behind the facade of dialogue lies a political, ideological, and financial infrastructure that Italy must address without naiveté,” the op-ed noted. “The ultimate goal is not to wage a crusade against Italian Islam. On the contrary. Italy needs a transparent Islam, independent of foreign funding and compatible with liberal democracy.”
“The real news is that Italy should paradoxically follow the example of the 13 … Muslim countries that have already banned the Brotherhood,” noted Alessandro Bertoldi, director of the Alliance for Israel. “Those who share the ideological stance of political Islam can magically access concrete benefits, starting with funding from countries like Qatar and Turkey.”
The UCOII, the GMI, and the Bayan Institute did not respond to FWI’s request for comment.
