Cairo: SiltaNews – News Desk
The US House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday advanced legislation that would require President Donald Trump to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. The bipartisan bill, introduced by Republican Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, cleared the panel with unanimous support from Republicans and backing from about half of its Democrats.
Diaz-Balart said the measure marked “a step in the right direction” toward designating the Muslim Brotherhood globally and reinforced what he described as Trump’s broader efforts to confront the group. Democratic Congressman Jared Moskowitz, part of the panel, said he is “proud to see our bipartisan bill to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization advance out of committee today.”
“For decades, the Brotherhood has been tied to extremism and instability across the Middle East and around the world,” said Moskowitz. “Other nations have already taken steps to investigate the Brotherhood and its affiliates, and the United States must have the authority to do the same,” he added.
Designating Muslim Brotherhood in US
In November, Trump initiated a formal review that could lead to the designation of several Muslim Brotherhood chapters in the Middle East as foreign terrorist organizations. Trump signed an executive order instructing the secretaries of state and treasury to deliver a joint report on this matter within 30 days, according to a White House fact sheet.
The report, which will be issued in coordination with the attorney general and the director of national intelligence, will recommend whether branches of the movement in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon should be added to the US terrorism list. Any designations would be expected within 45 days after the report is submitted.
The White House said the targeted chapters “engage in or facilitate and support violence and destabilization campaigns that harm their own regions, United States citizens, and United States interests.” According to the fact sheet, a senior figure in the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood “called for violent attacks against United States partners and interests” on October 7, 2023, the day Hamas launched its attack on Israel.
It also said the Lebanese chapter’s armed wing joined Hamas, Hezbollah and other Palestinian groups in firing rockets at Israeli military and civilian areas after the attack. The White House further accused Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood leaders of providing long-standing material support to Hamas.
“Such activities threaten the security of American civilians in the Levant and other parts of the Middle East, as well as the safety and stability of our regional partners,” the statement said. The potential federal designation would carry significant legal implications for the organization and its affiliates in the United States, restricting financial transactions and broadening law enforcement powers. Earlier in the same month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott designated both the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations.
The Muslim Brotherhood has been banned in several countries, including Egypt, where the group emerged, as well as Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan. In Egypt, numerous top leaders of the group have been convicted of violent and terrorist offenses over the past decade, with some receiving death sentences on charges ranging from murder to other acts of terrorism.