Clan leader Issa Remmo attends Islamism symposium at EU Parliament in Brussels

Remmo at the Brussels symposium

Berlin clan leader Issa Remmo, 58, was in the European Parliament on Thursday, 12 November, where he attended a symposium titled 'Demokratien angesichts des Islamismus: wachrütteln, Widerstand leisten, neu aufbauen'. Bild reported the visit, and the Jüdische Allgemeine also covered it. According to Die Welt, the event drew European politicians as well as representatives of Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities. Remmo followed the speeches through headphones with simultaneous interpretation and applauded several times, Bild reported. The Remmo family has been known to police for decades, and members have been convicted of offences including involvement in the theft of the 100 kg gold coin 'Big Maple Leaf' from the Bode Museum in Berlin in 2017 and the break-in at the Green Vault in Dresden in 2019.

Invitation and apology

The symposium was convened by French MEP Céline Imart of the European People's Party, whose group includes CDU and CSU members, and organised by French imam Hassen Chalghoumi, who is known for interfaith work and for condemning terrorism. Bild reported that Imart and Chalghoumi only learned of the allegations afterwards. Remmo told the Jüdische Allgemeine that Chalghoumi had invited him, and he called the imam his friend. Imart apologised, and her statement read:

“I apologize to all those who may have felt hurt by the presence of this person.”

Remmo's statements in Brussels

Remmo told the Jüdische Allgemeine that he had initially supported Die Linke but was now deeply disappointed in the party, and he accused it of having an antisemitism problem. Berliner Zeitung reported that he said he had founded a political party called 'Der Weg zum Licht', intended to promote brotherhood among people. He also spoke with the 90-year-old French-Jewish writer Marek Halter, and the Jüdische Allgemeine described his remarks as a passionate plea against antisemitism. Remmo summed up his message this way:

“Love wins and terror will lose.”

Remmo also said his grandmother had cooked for a Jewish family in Beirut, in a house 200 metres from the synagogue, and that people there lived together until the Lebanese civil war began in 1975.

The Die Linke connection

The Brussels appearance followed Remmo's presence at a Die Linke election party in Neukölln on 20 September. The party said he had not been invited and that it had neither political nor personal ties to him. Ferat Koçak, a Die Linke member of the Bundestag from Neukölln, came under pressure over friendly chat messages he had exchanged with one of Remmo's sons. Koçak admitted a mistake, apologised and gave up his seat on the Bundestag interior committee. He had also withdrawn from public view after the Berlin House of Representatives election.

Agenda and background

According to Berliner Zeitung, the symposium focused on the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood and on the relationship between Islam and European values. The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 and seeks a social order based on the Quran and Sunna. In a resolution of 8 October 2026, the European Parliament called for an EU strategy against the group's political influence. Chalghoumi warned against Islamist organisations, demanded tougher action against the Muslim Brotherhood and called for reform of imam training. Tagesspiegel reported that the gathering was a meeting of the Conference of European Imams, which wanted to signal support for a moderate form of European Islam.