 "The order made specific mention of chapters in Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan. (AP)")
US President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order authorising his administration to assess whether particular chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood should be designated as foreign terrorist organisations. The order instructs Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to examine the group’s various chapters and determine whether any warrant formal designation, a step that would allow stronger sanctions and wider authority to disrupt financial support.
A White House fact sheet stated that the order’s objective is to eliminate the designated chapters’ capabilities and operations, deprive them of resources and end any threat they pose to United States nationals and national security.
State actions preceding the order
Trump’s move comes only days after Texas Governor Greg Abbott designated the Muslim Brotherhood as both a foreign terrorist organisation and a transnational criminal organisation. The federal order now sets in motion a formal review process that could extend such designations to specific chapters identified by the State Department and the Treasury.
Trump had signalled in recent days that he would take this step after some of his supporters, including right-wing activist Laura Loomer, expressed frustration over the lack of action against the Muslim Brotherhood.
Founded in Egypt in 1928, the organisation has spread across the Middle East over the decades and maintains a presence in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and elsewhere. Earlier this year, Jordan moved to ban the group, accusing it of planning attacks in the country, according to The New York Times.
The Muslim Brotherhood maintains significant support in Jordan and has continued its activities there despite a 2020 ruling by the country’s highest court ordering its dissolution. For years, officials largely tolerated the movement’s presence.
In neighbouring Egypt, the organisation has been outlawed since 2013, following the ouster of its leader and former president Mohamed Morsi in a military takeover orchestrated by then–army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
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View AllSisi has governed Egypt ever since, strengthening his position and cementing a close partnership with the United States.