French Police Investigate Imam Training Institute for Alleged Foreign Funding Violations
Authorities conducted a large-scale operation targeting the IESH in Nièvre over suspected undeclared financing linked to Qatar and ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
- The Institut Européen des Sciences Humaines (IESH) in Saint-Léger-de-Fougeret, Nièvre, was raided by police as part of a financial investigation.
- The institute is accused of failing to declare foreign funding, reportedly from Qatar, as required by French law.
- The operation involved anti-terrorism investigators and focused on obtaining financial records and evidence of potential money laundering and abuse of trust.
- The IESH, founded in the 1990s, trains future imams and is alleged to have connections to the Muslim Brotherhood through its founding organizations.
- Authorities are scrutinizing the institute's compliance with regulations following a 2023 legal signalment under French penal code provisions.
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