Youssef Nada, key Muslim Brotherhood leader, dies at 94 in Europe

Youssef Nada, accused of terror financing after 9/11, dies at 94 in Europe.

By OHAD MERLIN DECEMBER 24, 2024 22:18

Muslim Brotherhood key figure Youssef Nada with Turkish president Erdogan in 2015. (photo credit: Youssef Nada website)

A prominent leader of the Muslim Brotherhood’s economic and foreign affairs arrays died in Europe at the age of 94. Youssef Nada, born in Alexandria in 1931, became affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood during his teen years, and later in life became a businessman who owned what he described as ‘a steel and cement empire’. He also founded the Al-Taqwa Islamic Bank, which was subject to scrutiny by the US and Switzerland over allegations of terror financing.

According to the online Muslim Brotherhood encyclopedia (‘Ikhwan Wiki’), Nada joined the Muslim Brotherhood in 1947 and participated in the local Canal Wars against British forces in 1951. Following the failed assassination attempt against Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1954, which was attributed to the Muslim Brotherhood, Nada was arrested alongside dozens of other members of the group. He then left Egypt in 1960 after to Libya and from there to Europe, spending most of the rest of his life between Italy and Switzerland.

In his website Nada described himself as the “Muslim Brotherhood foreign commissioner,” and in his autobiography he deemed himself a ‘de-facto foreign minister’ of the Muslim Brotherhood. He also claimed in his autobiography he was ‘involved in all aspects of the Arab Spring’, including the 2012 elections in Egypt which he correctly prophesied to bring to the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in the country, albeit for a short period of time.

Nada was personally acquainted with Saif Al-Islam Al-Banna, son of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan Al-Banna. His influential positions allowed him to maintain warm ties with world leaders, including current Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as can be seen from several photographs, both old and new, as well as with former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, who was renowned for endorsing suicide bombings against Israeli citizens, UN officials, and more.

Following 9/11, Nada was accused by the US of being involved in the financing of Al-Qaeda and was even placed on designation lists of several countries, though these accusations were eventually dispelled over lack of sufficient evidence.

A woman holds a sign that shows the Rabaa hand gesture, which symbolizes support for the Muslim Brotherhood, during a march. Sudan, May 22, 2015. (credit: REUTERS/STRINGER)

'Steadfast and patient preacher'

Official outlets of the Muslim Brotherhood eulogized Nada, deeming him “one of the Islamic nation’s most steadfast and patient preachers, who worked his entire life struggling for the sake of calling to Allah,” and reminding that as a foreign commissioner for the MB he mediated between Saudi Arabia and Iran and worked to resolve the crisis between the Algerian government and the Salvation Front.

As for the question of Nada’s successor in managing the Brotherhood’s economical empire, Saudi outlet Al-Arabiya reported that following Nada’s death, London-based MB leader Osama Farid Abdel Khaleq was appointed to manage the Brotherhood’s economic activity in Europe in an undeclared manner, adding that he began this role even while Nada was still alive.

The Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamist ideology

The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the Caliphate institution for the first time since the founding of Islam in the 7th century. The socio-political movement, led uniquely by young professionals rather than clerics, sought to promote its understanding of Islam in its “purest,” “untouched” form as the epicentre of any Muslim’s personal, political and national identity, in what today is known as “Islamism”.

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The Islamist agenda promotes a “call to Islam” or Da’wah, aiming at bringing both Muslims and non-Muslims closer to their interpretation of Islam, with some interpretations calling to integrate Muslim religious law, known as Shari’a, as part of the legal system of modern states.

Nowadays the Islamist agenda is pushed by a wide array of actors, from political parties to lobby groups, religious institutions and even NGOs, harboured and supported by states like Qatar and Turkey. In this context it should also be noted that Hamas described itself in its founding document as “the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.” Likewise, the Muslim Brotherhood was the ideological predecessor of Salafi Jihadism, founded by Hassan Al-Banna’s disciple, Sayyid Qutb.

Dr. Ehud Rosen from the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) noted that Nada played a key role in the process of transforming the Muslim Brotherhood to a global network. “He was one of the most important figures on the financial side, and also among the facilitators of the Brotherhood's intellectual project,” Rosen said. “It is only symbolic that he leaves us at a time we see the Muslim Brotherhood's immense influence on leading campuses, including those in the U.S. Ivy League.”