Star footballer Karim Benzema has filed a defamation lawsuit against France Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin over the latter's accusation that he had links with the Muslim Brotherhood, media reports said. In October last year, Darmanin had said Benzema "has a notorious link" with the Islamist group banned in several countries, including Egypt, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and several other Middle Eastern countries.
Quoting Benzema's lawyer Hugues Vigier, a BBC report said the comment "undermines" his honour and reputation.
Darmanin's October 2023 comment came after the former French striker posted a tweet in support of the people of Gaza, calling them "victims again of unjust bombardments which spare neither women nor children".
According to the BBC report, Darmanin had in response said Benzema failed to express similar sympathy for the Israeli victims killed by Hamas on October 7, and that he was "well-known for his links with the Muslim Brotherhood". "We are fighting the hydra that is the Muslim Brotherhood, because it creates an atmosphere of jihadism," the politician told a TV channel.
News agency AFP reported that Benzema's legal challenge, a 92-page complaint, accused Darmanin of trying to score political points, and that the footballer “never had the slightest link with the Muslim Brotherhood...nor to [his] knowledge with anyone who claims to be a member of it”.
Karim Benzema, 36, a former Real Madrid star and Ballon d’Or winner who now plays for the Al-Ittihad club in Saudi Arabia, added: "I am aware of the extent to which, because of my notoriety, I am being used in political games, which are all the more scandalous given that the dramatic events since October 7 deserve something quite different from this type of statement."
His lawyer Vigier has said Benzema is a victim of "political exploitation", and that the French minister was "sowing division in France". Darmanin has not issued any comment yet on the lawsuit. He has earlier criticised Benzema for other reasons, especially after his refusal to sing the French national anthem, and for his "proselytising on social networks", the BBC report said.
What Is Muslim Brotherhood?
Founded in Egypt about 80 years ago in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood is primarily seen as an ideological movement with no formal structure. Its founder Hassan al-Banna, an Islamic scholar and teacher, reportedly had a vision to establish a universal rule by promoting Islamic laws and morals.
Though MB is banned in many countries, including Egypt, the Sunni Muslim organisation is not restricted in most of the European Union.
The group mainly exerts its influence via front organisations that campaign for Islamic causes such as women's right to wear head-cover. It is said to have provided the rationale for Hamas-like modern-day Islamist organisations.