Europe's most powerful party is stoking a Muslim scare

The European People's Party (EPP), led by Ursula von der Leyen, is fueling a Muslim scare by advocating for the mapping and defunding of Muslim organizations across Europe. At their June assembly in Vienna, the EPP adopted a resolution that views Muslim civic engagement as inherently suspect and collective religious practice as a threat.

This stance echoes German Christian Democrats' approach to "political Islam" and French conspiracy theories about Islamist entryism. The resolution, titled "Interference of Political Islam in European Democratic Processes," carries significant weight as it stems from the party's presidency rather than individual parties or groups.

While the EPP is known for its inclusive nature, bringing together various center-right parties, it is heavily influenced by German CDU/CSU members, with most commissioners in the European Commission hailing from this faction. The party's resolution aims to criminalize an entire community, treating Muslims' civil society participation as a means for the state to interfere in their affairs.

By portraying Muslims as using the law to subvert their European nation-states, the EPP channels Germany's doctrine of "defensive democracy," which emerged post-Nazi era to protect the democratic order against totalitarian movements. The EPP's resolution relies on the French concept of "Islamist entryism," defining it as a strategy of gradual infiltration into institutions, parties, associations, and administrations to promote a fundamentalist interpretation of religion.

The resolution suggests that Muslims participating in European public life through religious institutions are suspect.