Library User Guide

The brotherism Library brings together CERIF’s collection of documents on Muslim Brotherhood, legalist Islamism and their networks: the centre’s own publications, official and parliamentary reports, think-tank studies, academic works and primary sources. Each document is described in a record (summary, author, date, themes, organisations, countries) and is available in full text.

1. Find a document

Three ways to access the collection:

• By typing in the main search bar: the list is instantly filtered by titles, authors, abstracts, topics, organisations and countries. Try ‘Qutb’, ‘FEMYSO’ or ‘Belgium’.
• Using the ‘Search’ button: the search then looks within the documents - their entire text, in all the languages of the collection (French, English, German, Arabic). This is the right option for a specific phrase, a rare proper name or a report number (“2025.319”, “pre-eminence of the laws of the Republic”…).
• Asking the AI a question: simply state your query in natural language and the assistant will find the relevant documents and generate a well-sourced answer - see section 3.

The ‘Search examples’ buttons below the search bar let you start a search with a single click.

2. Refine using filters

The left-hand column combines several criteria (which can be combined):

• Document type - book, report, CERIF note, interview, article, institutional document, primary source;
• Source - which produced the document: CERIF, a public body, think tank, university, NGO, media organisation, or author brotherist (text produced by the movement itself);
• Geographical area - countries or regions covered;
• Topics from brotherism - doctrine, entryism, higher education, Islamophobia, halal, finance, lobbying, youth, women, preaching, anti-Semitism, community networks;
• Organisations / Networks - Muslim Brotherhood, FEMYSO, FIOE, ECFR, CCIF/CIIB, Islamic Relief, Hamas… ;
• Publication period - drag the two slider handles; you can also click directly on a year in the ‘Years’ histogram in the right-hand column;
• Language of the document.

‘Reset’ sets everything back to zero.

3. Search the library using AI

Open the ‘Search the library using AI’ panel in the sidebar, then ask your question in natural language: “What are the entryist strategies attributed to Muslim Brotherhood in Europe?”

Three rules ensure the reliability of the exercise:

• The AI responds solely on the basis of the documents in the collection - never drawing on external knowledge;
• Each statement is linked to its source via a number [1] [2]…, and the list of cited documents is displayed below the answer and can be opened with a single click;
• If the database cannot provide an answer, the AI states this explicitly.

This feature is in beta: the answer is intended to help you explore the topic, not to provide expert advice - always check the referenced documentation.

→ Ask a question at the library

4. View, download, save

• View (the ⋮ menu on a record) opens the original PDF document in a new tab;
• Download the file to your device;
• The bookmark 🔖 saves a document so you can find it easily - your selection remains in your browser; nothing is transmitted;
• Sort by relevance, date or title; the two icons on the right toggle between list view and grid view.

5. Understanding a fact sheet

Each document is described by:

• a summary written in French, regardless of the language of the document;
• the author or institution, the original publication date and the number of pages;
• its themes, the organisations it covers, and the countries involved;
• the nature of the source - produced by CERIF, a public body, a think tank, a university, the press, an NGO, or a primary source brotherist. This last point is important: a text by Hassan al-Banna or Sayyid Qutb documents the movement from within and is read differently from a parliamentary report.

6. Any questions or problems?

Please email us at contact@cerif.eu. To find out more about CERIF, its remit and its team: About us

The library is constantly being expanded. The documents are selected, verified and documented by the CERIF team - an independent, non-partisan centre dedicated to knowledge and debate.