Trump Says He Will Designate Muslim Brotherhood as Foreign Terrorist Organization

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he intends to formally designate the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) as a foreign terrorist organization, marking one of the most consequential steps yet in a long-running US debate over the group’s global activities. Speaking to Just the News, Trump said the decision would be executed “in the strongest and most powerful terms,” adding that “final documents are being drawn.”

The declaration came only days after Just the News published an extensive exposé on the Brotherhood’s activities and on concerns circulating within the Trump administration. Trump has been weighing such a designation since his first administration, though the process had remained stalled for years.

The Muslim Brotherhood, founded nearly a century ago in Egypt, operates through chapters, parties, and affiliated movements across numerous countries. Its future standing in the United States has increasingly become a point of contention between federal policymakers, state governments, advocacy groups, and counterterrorism officials.

Trump’s announcement closely followed a dramatic escalation at the state level. Last week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott designated both the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as “foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations.” CAIR has rejected the labeling, filing a lawsuit against the Texas government and arguing—according to Politico—that the designation violates constitutional protections related to property and free speech, particularly as the proclamation bars CAIR members from acquiring land in Texas.

Abbott defended his move on Tuesday, accusing both groups of seeking “to forcibly impose Sharia law and establish Islam’s ‘mastership of the world.’” He said their alleged actions—including past support for terrorism, violence, intimidation, and harassment—left Texas with “no choice” but to prohibit them from owning property in the state.

The Texas proclamation argued that the Brotherhood maintains localized branches worldwide, including groups involved in terrorism, and that multiple governments have already banned or restricted its activities due to destabilizing behavior. CAIR, in turn, denounced Abbott directly, saying the governor was “an ‘Israel First’ politician” stoking “anti-Muslim hysteria” to smear organizations critical of Israel.

One day after the designation, Abbott’s office announced that he had directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to launch criminal investigations into both CAIR and the Brotherhood. The governor said the effort would focus on identifying and disrupting any groups attempting to impose Sharia law or engage in threats, intimidation, or criminal activity inside Texas.

The federal debate over the MB’s status has intensified throughout the year. Both Republicans and some Democrats have pushed the State Department to formally designate the Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated in August that the designation was “in the works,” but emphasized that the process is lengthy due to the Brotherhood’s numerous branches and affiliates, each requiring individual assessment.

The Brotherhood has previously pushed back strongly against efforts to label it a terrorist organization. In 2019, during Trump’s first administration, the group said it remained committed to “moderate and peaceful thinking” and to serving “the communities in which we live and humanity as a whole.” At the time, it said it would remain “stronger — through God’s grace and power — than any decision.”

The group’s motto is: “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.” The MB did not respond to a new request for comment submitted through its official English-language website regarding Trump’s latest announcement.

Founded in 1928 by Egyptian imam Hassan al-Banna, the Brotherhood sought the establishment of an Islamic state governed by sharia law. Over the decades, MB ideologues such as Sayyid Qutb helped shape the intellectual foundations of modern jihadist movements, influencing figures including Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Several militant organizations emerged from the Brotherhood’s orbit, including Egyptian Islamic Jihad—which helped assassinate Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981—the Islamic Group, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, active since 1979. Hamas is also considered a branch of the Brotherhood.

A leaked report by France’s Ministry of the Interior concluded that the group seeks ideological dominance in Europe by infiltrating civil society. The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy published studies assessing the Brotherhood as the intellectual root of jihadist groups worldwide. One of its November reports argued that the MB is pursuing a long-term strategy of “civilizational struggle” inside the United States through nonviolent extremism designed to exploit democratic freedoms.

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies released multiple assessments describing the Brotherhood as a “gateway to terrorism,” arguing that the movement’s ideology fuels both violent and nonviolent extremism. A recent FDD memo examined MB activity across six Middle Eastern countries as a framework for determining which branches warrant US designation.

Trump’s pledge to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization signals a pivotal shift in US policy and aligns Washington more closely with the approach taken by several Middle Eastern governments. With Texas already moving ahead independently, Congress pushing for legislative action, and federal documents reportedly nearing completion, the debate over the Brotherhood’s global role and domestic presence is entering a decisive new phase.