An imam training institute located in Saint-Léger-de-Fougeret, in Nièvre, was targeted this Wednesday morning by a vast police operation as part of a financial investigation opened for non-compliance with the obligation to declare foreign financing, particularly from Qatar, CNEWS learned from a source close to the matter.
This Wednesday, December 4 in the morning, the IESH (European Institute of Human Sciences) imam training institute in Nièvre was targeted by searches carried out by the judicial police, CNEWS learned from a source close to the case, confirming information from Figaro.
These searches are part of an investigation relating in particular to suspicions of non-declaration of financing from Qatar. The first report in this sense was made in 2023 under article 40 of the code of criminal procedure, as further specified in Le Figaro.
Contacted by AFP, the Nevers public prosecutor's office confirmed this information. A source close to the matter provided our colleagues with some details regarding the investigation, affirming that it concerns “suspicions of money laundering, breach of trust as well as non-compliance with the obligation to declare foreign financing “.
An institute which would have 200 students
This institute of imams was created in the early 1990s at the initiative of the Union of Islamic Organizations of France (UOIF, now Muslims of France). The latter gravitates in the orbit of the Islamist brotherhood of the Muslim Brotherhood.
On its website, the IESH indicates that its objective is “to train religious executives capable of teaching and preaching, both in Arabic and in their original language, competent in the field of religious sciences and their application, with a complete understanding of the socio-cultural realities in which they operate. Today it has around 200 students.
Three main courses are offered, namely “literary Arabic”, “religious sciences” and “memorization of the Holy Koran”, we can read on the IESH website. In total, the Union of European Institutes of Human Sciences has five Muslim campuses, including two in France, namely the IESH of Saint-Léger-de-Fougeret, targeted by today's searches, as well as the IESH of Saint -Denis, dating from 1992.
A second scandal affecting the same institute after that of Paris-Saint-Ouen
Across Europe, the IESH is present in three other countries, namely in England, in Birmingham since 2006, in Germany, in Frankfurt since 2013, and in Finland, in Helsinki since 2016.
This is the 2nd scandal affecting the IESH. In 2019, the Muslim Institute of Saint-Denis was described as “clearly Brotherhood” by an intelligence official testifying before deputies, as can be seen on the National Assembly website. In November of the same year, this institute was targeted by a closure order from the Seine-Saint-Denis prefecture for security reasons, the authorities having indicated “an unfavorable opinion on welcoming the public was given” .
Less than a year later, in June 2020, the Bobigny public prosecutor's office opened a preliminary investigation into “the methods of financing the activities” of the Institute. The dean of this same IESH, Ahmed Jaballah, former president of the UOIF, was subject, on January 30, 2024, to an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF) issued by the prefecture of Val-d'Oise for irregular situation and disturbance of public order. He had joined Tunisia on his own initiative.
