Egypt designates Islamic organisation linked to Barcelona’s largest mosque as terrorist
Egypt designates LIDCOE over links to terrorism. The organisation shares a legal representative with El Clot mosque in Barcelona.
Exterior of the Catalan Islamic Cultural Centre // Wikimedia Commons (CC0).
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Egypt has designated 35 European Islamic organisations as terrorist organisations and added 36 individuals to its terrorism list, segons informa Egypt Today. The organisations named include the Islamic League for Dialogue and Coexistence in Spain (LIDCOE). The organisation maintains direct links with the Catalan Islamic Cultural Centre, known as El Clot mosque in Barcelona: LIDCOE and the mosque share a legal representative and both belong to the Islamic federation FAICE, with which LIDCOE also shares its registered office. LIDCOE is also linked to a European Islamic federation that appears on Egypt’s terrorism list.
The mosque is the largest in Barcelona, with capacity for around 500 men. In addition to worship, it organises Arabic and Qur’an classes for children and adults, religious training courses, conferences, youth activities, camps and cultural initiatives. Among the preachers it has invited is the Egyptian Omar Abdelkafi, a controversial figure known for his sermons against Jews and his statements about women.
Egypt’s list of terrorist organisations includes 27 Islamic organisations linked to European countries and eight Europe-wide entities. The latter include the Council of European Muslims, which LIDCOE acknowledges working with on its official website. The Egyptian decision therefore affects both the Spanish organisation and the European body with which it maintains institutional relations.
Inclusion on the list carries legal consequences, but only in Egypt. Egyptian law bans the listed organisations’ activities in the country, closes their premises and freezes their assets. The decision does not mean that these organisations are banned in Spain or elsewhere in the European Union, where they remain subject to the legislation of each country.
The links between El Clot mosque and LIDCOE
The Catalan Islamic Cultural Centre, or El Clot mosque, and the Islamic League for Dialogue and Coexistence in Spain (LIDCOE) share a legal representative, according to the Ministry of Justice's Register of Religious Entities (CCIC registration and LIDCOE registration). Although the two entities are registered separately, their shared representative establishes a direct link between the Barcelona mosque and the organisation that Egypt has included on its terrorism list.
The relationship is also reflected on LIDCOE’s website, which has reported on activities organised by El Clot mosque, including the centre’s participation in Sant Jordi celebrations and a book exhibition held at its facilities. Both news items appear in the activities section of the Spanish organisation included on Egypt’s terrorism list.
The links between LIDCOE and radical Islam highlighted by Egypt were already known to the Spanish authorities. In 2018, the Secretary of State for Security ordered the expulsion of Egyptian imam Alaa Mohamed Said, segons informacions de la Cadena SER. Said was director of LIDCOE’s Education and Preaching Department. He also served as an imam in Logroño and took part in interfaith dialogue forums in the city. The Spanish authorities considered his activities a threat to national security.
FAICE, the federation to which El Clot mosque and LIDCOE belong
The Catalan Islamic Cultural Centre (CCIC) and LIDCOE are also linked through their membership of the same federation, the Federation of Islamic Groups for Coexistence in Spain (FAICE). According to the Ministry of Justice’s Register of Religious Entities, both organisations belong to this federation.
In addition, FAICE and LIDCOE share an address at 23 Calle Granada in Valencia. The link between El Clot mosque and LIDCOE is therefore documented in two ways: they share a legal representative and belong to the same Islamic federation.
LIDCOE’s international links with FIOE
The Islamic League for Dialogue and Coexistence in Spain (LIDCOE) is part of the Federation of Islamic Organisations in Europe (FIOE), which changed its name to the Council of European Muslims (Council of Muslims of Europe). It is another of the organisations that Egypt has included on its terrorism list.
According to the report The Muslim Brotherhood in Spain, published by the Elcano Royal Institute in 2022, LIDCOE was the only Spanish organisation officially affiliated with FIOE. However, LIDCOE does not hide this link and on its own website openly states that it works with the Council of European Muslims (formerly FIOE).
The European federation was founded in 1989 and among its founders and leaders were prominent figures from the Muslim Brotherhood, such as Ahmed al-Rawi and Ibrahim al-Zayat. Elcano researchers identify FIOE as one of the main European structures linked to this religious movement.
Financial links between LIDCOE and El Clot mosque
The relationship between LIDCOE and the Catalan Islamic Cultural Centre also appears in documentation on the funding of Islamic projects in Spain. According to a report by the Elcano Royal Institute, LIDCOE acted as an intermediary in funding projects involving Qatar Charity, a Qatar-based organisation that has financed the construction of mosques and Islamic centres in Europe.
Among the projects identified by the researchers is the Catalan Islamic Cultural Centre in Barcelona, with a proposed budget of €7.17 million, according to an internal project list dated June 2015. The documentation examined by Elcano includes initiatives channelled through LIDCOE worth approximately €17 million. The report documents these funding proposals, but does not establish that El Clot mosque actually received the proposed €7.17 million.
Qatar Charity is a controversial Qatar-based organisation founded in 1992 and dedicated to international religious charity. In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain included Qatar Charity on a list of organisations linked to terrorist financing. The four governments accused several Qatari entities of supporting extremist organisations. Qatar Charity says it is no longer on the lists of the four Arab countries that designated it in 2017, but there is no evidence that it has been removed from those lists.
A mosque integrated into neighbourhood life
El Clot mosque maintains regular ties with the neighbourhood and Barcelona’s institutions. The centre welcomes schools, universities, religious representatives and community organisations. In April 2016, the mosque received a visit from the Archbishop of Barcelona, Joan Josep Omella, accompanied by auxiliary bishop Sebastià Taltavull. They were welcomed by the legal representative of LIDCOE, the organisation Egypt has now designated over links to terrorism. The mosque also welcomes visits from schools, including students from Institut Icària in Barcelona or Adela de Trenquelleon School. El Clot mosque has also hosted political events. In 2015, a debate on Islamophobia brought together representatives of the CUP, ERC, PSC, En Comú Podem and Democràcia i Llibertat at the centre. The event was presented as a meeting point for the Muslim community and political parties.
The mosque’s public presence is reflected in its participation in celebrations such as Sant Jordi, its solidarity initiatives during the pandemic and the coverage it has received from various media outlets. The centre has also received funding from Barcelona City Council, which awarded it four grants totalling €7,080 between 2020 and 2024, according to data from the Menjòmetre portal. The mosque continues its regular public activities and institutional relations in the city, while the organisation with which it shares a legal representative has been included on Egypt’s terrorism list.
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