Trump Designates Muslim Brotherhood as Terrorist Organization  | Headline USA

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) President Donald Trump on Monday began the process to give the Muslim Brotherhood the recognition critics say it has long earned: a designation as a foreign terrorist organization. 

The Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist organization founded in 1928 in Egypt, has long leveraged its ties to terrorist groups to exert influence across the Middle East. 

Since Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the Muslim Brotherhood has been accused of fueling terrorist acts and undermining U.S. interests and allies in the region. 

Trump’s order specifically singles out the Brotherhood’s chapters in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt for supporting Hamas after the terrorist attack. 

For instance, the Lebanese chapter’s military wing joined Hamas, Hezbollah and Palestinian factions after Oct. 7 to launch rockets against civilian and military targets in Israel following that attack. 

Similarly, a senior leader in the Egyptian chapter of the Brotherhood called for violent attacks against the U.S., while the Jordan chapter has long provided material support to Hamas terrorists, Trump said. 

“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,” Trump added. 

The order directs Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to coordinate with the DOJ and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to submit a joint report on the designation within 30 days. 

Within 45 days of the report’s submission, both Rubio and Bessent “shall take all appropriate action” regarding the designation. 

Trump hinted at the move over the weekend, telling Just the News that the designation would “be done in the strongest and most powerful terms.” 

The president’s action follows similar steps taken by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who declared the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations.