U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday he will designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization, describing the move as a long-considered step against a group he views as destabilizing the Middle East. “It will be done in the strongest and most powerful terms,” Trump told Just the News. “Final documents are being drawn.”
The announcement came days after the outlet published an investigation into the Brotherhood’s activities and after renewed internal discussions in Washington. Trump has weighed such a designation since his first administration, but the decision had stalled amid concerns about the group’s global branches and affiliates.
The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt nearly a century ago, operates political parties, religious movements and affiliated organizations across the Middle East and beyond. Several countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, have banned or designated it a terrorist organization.
State-level pressure in the United States has grown. Last week Texas Gov. Greg Abbott labeled both the Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as “foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations.” CAIR has sued the state, arguing that the designation violates constitutional property and free speech rights. Abbott later directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to “launch criminal investigations” into both groups.
In Washington, bipartisan lawmakers have pushed the State Department to act. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in August that a designation was “in the works,” though the process requires examining each regional branch individually. Sen. Ted Cruz, who introduced legislation calling for the designation, said the Brotherhood supports terrorist affiliates, including Hamas, which carried out the Oct. 7 attack in Israel. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart and Rep. Jared Moskowitz reintroduced a House bill seeking a modernized framework for labeling the movement as a terrorist organization.
The Brotherhood has rejected such accusations. In a 2019 statement, the group insisted it would remain “steadfast in our work in accordance with our moderate and peaceful thinking.” Its motto, however, reads: “Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. The Qur'an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.”
A number of analysts and research institutions have urged a tougher U.S. stance, arguing that the Brotherhood has served as an ideological incubator for jihadist movements. Reports from the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and European intelligence agencies describe the group as advancing an organized, long-term strategy to influence Western institutions while inspiring or supporting violent offshoots abroad.
The Brotherhood did not respond to a request for comment sent through its official English-language website.