WASHINGTON (BN24) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday initiating a process to designate certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists, a move that would impose sanctions on branches of one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist political movements operating in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan.
The directive orders Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to submit a report within 30 days on whether to designate Muslim Brotherhood chapters in those three countries, with formal designations to follow within 45 days after the report’s completion if appropriate, according to a White House fact sheet. The Trump administration accuses Muslim Brotherhood factions of supporting or encouraging violent attacks against Israel and United States partners, or providing material support to Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“President Trump is confronting the Muslim Brotherhood’s transnational network, which fuels terrorism and destabilization campaigns against U.S. interests and allies in the Middle East,” the White House stated, framing the action as part of broader counterterrorism strategy targeting groups Washington considers threats to American security and regional stability.
The designations would make providing material support to targeted chapters illegal under United States law, ban current and former members from entering the country, and enable economic sanctions designed to choke their revenue streams. The process, typically a formality once initiated by presidential order, could result in formal designations arriving sooner than the specified timeline, with the executive order also opening possibilities for blacklisting additional Muslim Brotherhood branches beyond the three countries initially targeted.
Historical Context and Organizational Evolution
The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 by Islamic scholar Hassan al-Banna as a political movement countering the spread of secular and nationalist ideologies following the Ottoman Empire’s collapse and European colonial expansion throughout the Middle East. The organization swiftly spread through Muslim-majority countries, becoming a major political player while often operating in secret or semi-clandestine conditions as governments viewed its influence with suspicion.
Across the contemporary Middle East, Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated parties participate in elections and publicly commit to peaceful political engagement through established democratic processes. The movement evolved from its revolutionary origins into a complex transnational network with offshoots taking varied forms including political parties, social service organizations, charitable foundations and educational institutions that provide services often lacking from state institutions in countries with weak governance structures.
However, several regional governments have outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, viewing it as existential threat to established political orders. Egypt banned the organization and drove it mostly underground following the 2013 military coup that overthrew elected President Mohamed Morsi, whose Freedom and Justice Party represented the Brotherhood’s political wing. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have similarly designated the Brotherhood as terrorist organization, reflecting Gulf monarchies’ concerns about Islamist political movements challenging hereditary rule.
Specific Allegations Against Regional Chapters
The White House fact sheet levels distinct accusations against Muslim Brotherhood chapters in the three targeted countries. According to the administration’s claims, the Lebanese chapter’s military wing, known as al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, helped terror groups launch multiple rocket attacks against civilian and military targets within Israel following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the current Gaza war.
The White House alleges that a senior Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader encouraged violent attacks against United States partners and interests in the Middle East on the same day Hamas perpetrated the October 7 assault, though the fact sheet provides no specific details about which leader made such statements or through what medium. Given that Egypt’s government has banned the Muslim Brotherhood and driven its leadership into exile or imprisonment, the context and credibility of this allegation remains unclear without additional information.
Regarding Jordan, the executive order claims that Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood leaders have “long provided material support to the militant wing of Hamas,” citing unspecified reports without elaborating on the nature, timing or scale of alleged support. The Jordanian chapter, officially known as the Islamic Action Front, operates as legal political party within Jordan’s constitutional monarchy and has historically maintained complex relationship with the Hashemite government, sometimes cooperating and other times facing restrictions depending on political circumstances.
Legal Framework and Designation Process
The executive order directs Rubio and Bessent to consult with the Attorney General and Director of National Intelligence while preparing their report on whether to designate Muslim Brotherhood chapters as Foreign Terrorist Organizations under Title 8, United States Code, Section 1189 and as Specially Designated Global Terrorists under Title 50, United States Code, Section 1702 and Executive Order 13224, which President George W. Bush issued following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Foreign Terrorist Organization designation represents the State Department’s most serious classification for groups deemed to threaten United States national security through terrorist activities. The designation triggers multiple legal consequences including criminal penalties for providing material support, immigration restrictions preventing members from entering the United States, and financial sanctions freezing assets under American jurisdiction.
The Specially Designated Global Terrorist classification, administered by the Treasury Department, enables broader economic warfare against targeted entities by prohibiting transactions with American persons or entities and blocking property subject to United States jurisdiction. These combined designations would effectively isolate targeted Muslim Brotherhood chapters from the international financial system and criminalize support from American sources.
Political Context and Right-Wing Advocacy
Blacklisting the Muslim Brotherhood has been a longstanding demand among right-wing activists in the United States who view the movement as inherently extremist regardless of individual chapters’ activities or stated commitments to peaceful political participation. Conservative political figures and organizations have promoted narratives portraying the Brotherhood as existential threat to Western civilization, often describing it as master organization coordinating Islamic extremism globally despite evidence that regional chapters maintain significant autonomy and pursue divergent strategies.
Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently designated both the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations as “foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations,” prompting CAIR to file lawsuit challenging the designations. CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad told Al Jazeera that “the American Muslim organizations are solid” and based in the United States, expressing hope that formal designations would not impact Muslim American advocacy groups and charities.
However, Awad acknowledged that anti-Muslim activists have promoted “the conspiracy theory that every Muslim organization in the US is a front to the Muslim Brotherhood,” creating environment where designation of overseas chapters could be weaponized against domestic Muslim American institutions through guilt-by-association allegations. Critics warn the move could enable targeting of Muslim American activists on allegations of ties to the Muslim Brotherhood or contributions to charities affiliated with the movement, chilling constitutionally protected religious and political expression.
Regional Implications and Authoritarian Concerns
Critics argue that formal United States designation of Muslim Brotherhood chapters could further enable authoritarianism and crackdowns on free political expression throughout the Middle East by providing American validation for repressive measures regional governments already employ against Islamist political opposition. Countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have used terrorism designations to justify mass arrests, asset seizures and suppression of political dissent targeting not only Muslim Brotherhood members but broader civil society organizations and opposition movements.
The designation could particularly impact Egypt, where the government has imprisoned tens of thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members and supporters since the 2013 coup while using terrorism charges to prosecute peaceful political opposition. American designation would reinforce Egyptian government narratives justifying these crackdowns as counterterrorism measures rather than political repression, potentially encouraging expanded restrictions on remaining civil society space.
In Jordan, where the Islamic Action Front operates legally as political party participating in elections and parliamentary processes, designation could complicate the government’s delicate balancing act managing relationships with Islamist movements while maintaining close security cooperation with the United States and peace treaty with Israel. The Jordanian government might face pressure to take action against the Islamic Action Front despite its legal status and role in national politics.
Lebanon’s sectarian political system, which allocates power among religious communities through complex arrangements, could face additional destabilization if the United States designates al-Jamaa al-Islamiya as terrorist organization. The group participates in Lebanese politics and provides social services to Sunni Muslim communities, with formal terrorism designation potentially disrupting established political equilibrium in a country already suffering severe economic crisis and political dysfunction.
Broader Counterterrorism Strategy Context
The White House positions the Muslim Brotherhood designation within broader counterterrorism efforts initiated since Trump’s return to office. The fact sheet cites previous actions including initiating the process to designate Yemen’s Ansar Allah (Houthis) as foreign terrorist organization in January, designating eight cartels including Tren de Aragua and MS-13 as terrorist organizations in February, and ordering lethal strikes against narcoterrorists to prevent drugs from entering the United States.
This framing connects disparate groups—Middle Eastern political movements, Yemeni rebels, Latin American gangs, and drug traffickers—under unified counterterrorism narrative, though these entities operate in vastly different contexts with unrelated objectives and capabilities. The administration presents these actions as defending American security and promoting international peace and stability, though critics question whether designations address root causes of violence or primarily serve political signaling purposes.
The June proclamation restricting entry of non-immigrants from countries with histories of terrorism or lawlessness referenced in the fact sheet represents continuation of controversial travel ban policies from Trump’s first term that targeted predominantly Muslim countries. Civil liberties advocates challenged those policies as discriminatory religious targeting violating constitutional principles, with litigation producing mixed judicial outcomes that ultimately upheld presidential authority to impose entry restrictions on national security grounds.
Implementation Timeline and Practical Effects
The 30-day timeline for the Rubio-Bessent report followed by 45 days for formal designations means Muslim Brotherhood chapters in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan could face official terrorist organization status within approximately 75 days of Monday’s executive order, barring unexpected complications or delays. However, the process could accelerate given that such designations typically follow predetermined outcomes once presidential directives are issued.
The practical effects would include criminal liability for Americans or entities under United States jurisdiction providing funds, goods, services or other support to designated chapters. Muslim American charities operating in Egypt, Lebanon or Jordan would need to implement enhanced due diligence ensuring their humanitarian work does not indirectly benefit designated entities, creating compliance burdens that could discourage charitable activities in those countries.
Financial institutions would be required to block transactions involving designated entities and report attempts to circumvent restrictions, with penalties for violations including substantial fines and potential criminal prosecution. International businesses with operations touching the United States financial system would similarly need to avoid dealings with designated chapters, extending American sanctions’ reach beyond direct jurisdiction through secondary effects on global commerce.
Immigration consequences would render current and former members inadmissible to the United States, potentially affecting students, professionals, refugees and others with historic association with Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated organizations seeking to visit, study or resettle in America. The broad definition of membership could capture individuals who participated in Brotherhood activities during periods when it operated legally as mainstream political movement.
Contributions: Aljazeera/theguardian/whitehouse.gov
