WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Donald Trump said his administration is preparing to formally designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, a step several Muslim-majority nations have already taken amid longstanding concerns about the group’s political ambitions and influence.
Egypt — the organization’s birthplace — banned the Muslim Brotherhood years ago, labeling it a terrorist group after a period of violent unrest. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also outlawed the movement, calling it a driver of extremism and a threat to national security.
On Monday, Trump signed an executive order directing Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to begin the process of designating certain chapters of the organization as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
The White House also released a fact sheet breaking down how the administration will initiate the process of enacting the designations.
The order directs Rubio and Bessent to work with Attorney General Pam Bondi and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to submit a report on whether to designate any Muslim Brotherhood chapters, such as those in Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan, as FTOs.
It mandates that the secretaries take action within 45 days after the report to designate chapters if appropriate.
The Order’s ultimate aim is to eliminate the designated chapters’ capabilities and operations, deprive them of resources, and end any threat such chapters pose to U.S. nationals and the national security of the United States,” the fact sheet read.
The president’s announcement comes as a new study from the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) warns that the Brotherhood has pursued a “long-term strategy” to shape Western societies from within. The report argues the group exploits democratic systems and cultural tolerance to advance its political ideology over the course of decades.
Dr. Qanta Ahmed, a physician and policy fellow who has studied the organization, told Fox News that she first recommended the U.S. designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization more than a decade ago. She argues the group has built influence within U.S. institutions and stresses the importance of distinguishing Islam — a diverse global faith — from Islamism, the political ideology promoted by the Brotherhood.
“Post-9/11, we saw Islamophobia, then boycott-divestment-sanctions targeting Israel, and now widespread pro-Hamas protests, that is all part of a multi-generational project to undermine secular democracy using democratic freedoms,” Ahmed said.
Texas has already taken unilateral action. Last week, Governor Greg Abbott designated both the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations, accusing them of trying to impose Sharia law and pursue “Islam’s mastership of the world.” The designation blocks the groups from buying or owning land in the state.
CAIR responded by filing a lawsuit and rejecting the claims. In a statement, CAIR-Texas said, “Mr. Abbott is defaming us and other American Muslims because we are effective advocates for justice here and abroad.”
President Trump says the federal documents needed for the national designation are already being drafted.
