[2] El-Zayat became head of the Islamic Community of Germany (Islamische Gemeinschaft in Deutschland; IGD) in January 2002, following the resignation of Ali Ghaleb Himmat.
El Zayat served in that position for the maximum two terms allowed by the constitution when he was replaced in January 2010.
Following completion of his studies on Islamic economic systems in 1992, El-Zayat moved to Cologne and was involved with the founding of three Islamic youth organizations, and at one time had been a member of the Ring Christlich-Demokratischer Studenten, an organization describing itself as having “political convictions led by Christian Democratic, conservative and liberal values.
[4] El-Zayat was a founder and director of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE), heading its public relations department.
[5][6] He has also been a trustee of the Institut Européen des Sciences Humaines (IESH) at Chateau-Chinon / France.