What is the Muslim Brotherhood? Trump moves to designate certain chapters as terrorist groups

The Trump administration has begun the process of determining whether several branches of the Muslim Brotherhood — one of the most prominent Islamist movements in West Asia — should be formally placed on US terrorism lists.

This step revives an issue US President Donald Trump pursued during his first term.

Through an executive order signed on Monday, Trump instructed senior members of his administration to compile a detailed assessment of Brotherhood chapters in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan, with the intention of determining whether these individual branches meet the criteria for labelling them as Foreign Terrorist Organisations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs).

A White House fact sheet describing the administration’s intent stated that, “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 US nationals and the national security of the United States.”

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The move delivers on longstanding demands from several Republican lawmakers as well as regional governments in the region that have spent years urging Washington to take a harder stance against the movement.

How Trump’s order sets up the terror review process

The executive directive requires US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to prepare a unified report within 30 days.

If the recommendations support action, the order instructs the agencies to proceed within 45 days.

🚨 President Donald J. Trump just signed an Executive Order directing @SecRubio and @SecScottBessent to begin the process of designating certain chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists.

Here is the text of…

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) November 24, 2025

The order itself does not designate any group immediately. Instead, it initiates a structured, time-bound investigation into whether actions attributed to Brotherhood-linked networks — including alleged ties to Hamas, participation in violent confrontations involving Israeli forces, or activities affecting American partners — qualify for sanctions under US law.

Before signing the order, Trump told the conservative outlet Just the News that the administration had already begun preparing “final documents” to start the designation process.

The move also mirrors discussions from his first term, when political advisers expressed contrasting views about whether branding the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation could alienate key US allies or increase radicalisation among Muslim communities globally.

Why these three chapters were flagged

Officials in the administration referenced incidents involving Brotherhood-associated actors in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan as justification for examining potential terror labels.

One element cited by the executive order relates to Lebanon, where fighters aligned with Brotherhood affiliates reportedly participated in clashes alongside Hezbollah that escalated into one of the most destructive confrontations in the country in decades.

The order also alleges that Jordan’s Brotherhood branch has “long provided material support to the militant wing of Hamas.”

Jordan banned the Muslim Brotherhood earlier this year, following years of recurring accusations from authorities regarding links to extremism and subversive activity.

In Egypt, the justification was more general. The order pointed to a statement by an unnamed senior Brotherhood figure who allegedly “called for violent attacks” on October 7, 2023 — the date when Hamas launched its large-scale assault on Israel.

However, the administration did not specify which leader made the statement or what exactly was said, leaving questions about the evidentiary basis.

This ambiguity has drawn attention, given that Egypt outlawed the movement more than a decade ago and continues to treat it as its most significant political threat.

Should the designations move forward, the consequences would be far-reaching. Any property held by designated entities in the United States would be frozen, and Americans would face criminal penalties for providing material support.

US institutions — from banks to charities to companies — would be barred from engaging with any individuals or entities affiliated with these chapters.

What we know of the Muslim Brotherhood

The Muslim Brotherhood has existed for nearly a century, tracing its roots back to 1928 when Egyptian educator Hassan al-Banna established the movement to promote a model of society grounded in Islamic values.

His vision emerged at a moment when post-Ottoman societies were grappling with colonial influence, national identity, and the rise of secular ideologies.

By appealing to cultural authenticity and political reform, the Brotherhood grew rapidly, building networks of supporters across Egypt and eventually throughout the Arab world.

What distinguishes the movement is its structure: local branches operate autonomously, often navigating different political environments and alliances.

In some countries, Brotherhood-affiliated parties have participated openly in parliamentary politics. In others, they have been banned, driven underground or forced to adapt to clandestine activism.

The Brotherhood gained unprecedented political prominence in 2012 when its candidate, Mohammed Morsi, won Egypt’s presidency in the wake of the Arab Spring.

His tenure, however, was short-lived. In 2013, a military takeover led by Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted Morsi, dissolved Brotherhood institutions, and launched a wide-ranging crackdown that continues to this day.

The Egyptian government has since aligned itself closely with Washington and regional powers opposed to the Brotherhood.

Across the region, the movement has had vastly different trajectories. In Tunisia, the Ennahda Party — ideologically inspired by the Brotherhood — entered electoral politics after the 2011 revolution.

However, ongoing political upheaval since 2021 has led to the detention of its leader, Rached Ghannouchi, and a collapse of its political standing.

In Jordan, the Brotherhood historically maintained significant grassroots influence and its political arm, the Islamic Action Front, is the country’s largest opposition bloc. But the group’s legal status has progressively eroded, culminating in its ban earlier this year.

Hamas, founded in Gaza in 1987, emerged as a Palestinian offshoot of the Brotherhood and has long been categorised as a terrorist organisation under US law.

This historical connection has played a central role in arguments from American conservatives who argue that Brotherhood movements across the region help foster militant groups or support anti-Western ideologies.

Countries that have already outlawed the Brotherhood

Several states in West Asia have gone much further than the United States to suppress the Muslim Brotherhood.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have officially labelled the movement a terrorist organisation.

These governments argue that Brotherhood ideology and activism challenge state authority, promote instability and sometimes overlap with militant organisations.

Jordan joined the list of states restricting the movement when it banned the Brotherhood in April 2025 after accusing it of involvement in a conspiracy against the monarchy.

Jordanian authorities subsequently shut down charities linked to the organisation, marking a significant turn in a country that historically tolerated its operations even after court rulings questioning its legality.

France has also shown increasing concern. In May 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron instructed his government to propose strategies to contain the influence of the Brotherhood and limit what he described as the spread of political Islam in French society.

By contrast, Turkey and Qatar have maintained more open channels with Brotherhood-aligned groups.

Ankara has historically served as a political refuge for exiled Brotherhood members, particularly after Egypt’s crackdown. Doha has provided rhetorical support, though it restricts formal organisational operations on its soil.

How Washington reacted to the development

The decision to resurrect an aggressive stance toward the Brotherhood has been welcomed by conservative lawmakers and commentators.

US Senator Ted Cruz, who introduced legislation in July proposing that Washington officially classify the Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation, argued that the movement’s connections to Hamas and alleged activities targeting American regional allies justify a strong response.

He said the group works to “destabilise and undermine” governments such as Egypt and Jordan.

Bills in both chambers of Congress have sought to mandate the designation, although they have not progressed beyond committee stages.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released a statement applauding Trump’s initiative, asserting that the organisation “endangers stability throughout the Middle East and beyond the Middle East.”

US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee echoed that sentiment, calling the decision “the right call.”

Within the United States, Texas Governor Greg Abbott used state-level authority last week to classify the Brotherhood as a terrorist entity, signalling a growing trend of Republican-led jurisdictions taking independent action against the movement.

Public activists have also weighed in. Far-right commentator Laura Loomer, known for her anti-Islam rhetoric and informal advisory role to the Trump camp, has been pushing the administration to complete the designation.

How this fits into Trump’s revised counterterrorism strategy

Once reserved primarily for ideological militant groups, the designation system has been applied to a broader array of organisations, including criminal syndicates and drug cartels in Latin America, during Trump’s second terms.

These moves came after Trump issued an earlier executive order in January declaring certain foreign cartels as terrorist entities — a step the administration later used to justify military strikes on vessels in the Western Hemisphere, some of which resulted in civilian casualties.

By focusing on specific Brotherhood branches, Trump appears to be pursuing a more legally defensible course than his earlier attempt in 2019, when he sought to brand the entire movement a terrorist organisation at the request of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

At that time, critics argued the Brotherhood’s decentralised structure and varied political roles made a blanket designation incompatible with US law.

Trump’s earlier effort stalled over concerns that the move would alienate US allies such as Turkey.

The new order avoids the legal pitfalls of targeting the movement globally by isolating the review to specific branches alleged to have direct or indirect ties to violent acts.

With inputs from agencies