The United States has designated the Egyptian, Lebanese, and Jordanian branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as global terrorist organizations, citing their alleged support for the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
This move, formally set in motion last November, will trigger sanctions against one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements.
The US Treasury Department confirmed the three chapters are now “specially designated global terrorists,” accusing them of backing or encouraging violent attacks against Israel and American partners.
A statement from the department asserted, “Chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood purport to be legitimate civic organizations while, behind the scenes, they explicitly and enthusiastically support terrorist groups like Hamas.”
Egypt’s foreign ministry welcomed the designation, describing it as a “crucial step that reflects the gravity of the group and its extremist ideology and what it represents as a direct threat of regional and international security and stability.”
The Muslim Brotherhood briefly held power in Egypt after winning the 2012 presidential election, but was overthrown by the military a year later and has since faced a fierce crackdown.
The Muslim Brotherhood, a group established in Egypt in the 1920s, has profoundly influenced Islamist political movements across the Middle East, its ideology both popular and contentious. Founded in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna, a teacher who became an ideologue, the Brotherhood advocates for governance based on Islamic teachings.
While its leaders assert a renunciation of violence decades ago, pursuing Islamic rule through peaceful elections, some offshoots maintain armed factions. Autocratic governments frequently label the group a threat.
Initially providing social services, the organisation later adopted militancy, with an armed wing engaging British colonialists and Israel. It was implicated in the 1948 assassination of Egyptian Prime Minister Mahmoud Fahmi al-Nokrashi, who had outlawed the group. Al-Banna himself was assassinated two months later in Cairo.
Following Egypt’s 1952 military coup, the Brotherhood faced accusations of attempting to assassinate President Gamal Abdel-Nasser, leading to the execution of prominent ideologue Sayyed Qutb and the imprisonment of thousands of members.
