Women were unwelcome: How Derad fell into disrepute

A security review intended to assess Derad staff for sensitive work instead triggered the collapse of the Austrian deradicalization organization’s government partnerships.

Employees failed a review by the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence, or DSN, in June 2026. DSN chief Sylvia Mayer said the agency had evidence of links between several people associated with Derad and structures connected to legalistic Islamism. Security circles described the problem as structural infiltration by the Muslim Brotherhood, rather than isolated cases.

The findings prompted the Education and Justice ministries to end their cooperation with Derad. The organization had worked for the Justice Ministry in prisons, helping Islamist offenders disengage from jihadism, defined in the report as violent Islamism. Derad rejected the allegations as “nonsense” and said it had always warned against the Muslim Brotherhood.

“

We have findings concerning the proximity of various actors in the organization to structures of legalistic Islamism.

The security assessment followed a 2025 Justice Ministry tender to reorganize deradicalization work. The DSN examined about a dozen Derad employees and, according to security circles, found clear and verified links between central figures in the organization and the Muslim Brotherhood. The assessment drew on statements by members, intelligence findings and incidents linked to Derad’s work.

Security sources alleged that Derad’s clients were encouraged to abandon jihadism while retaining their Islamist ideology and pursuing it through other means. They also said the organization refused to deploy female staff in some courses and sometimes insisted that female teachers leave school workshops. The report says concerns about links to the Muslim Brotherhood had existed for years, but earlier suspicions had not been enough to end all government cooperation.

“

nonsense