Trump starts process to designate Muslim Brotherhood chapters as foreign terrorist organization

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday stipulating that "certain chapters or other subdivisions of the Muslim Brotherhood shall be considered for designation as Foreign Terrorist Organizations." 

What happened: The order, which was announced by the White House but does not yet constitute a designation, mentioned the Brotherhood's chapters in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt as "relevant" to the action. The US Departments of State and Treasury will submit a joint report to the president on the issue within 30 days and will take any relevant action on designations within 45 days, according to the White House statement.

Trump told Just the News, a conservative publication, on Sunday that “final documents” are being drawn up to get the designation process underway. 

Background: Founded in Egypt in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood supports the Islamization of Arab societies. It has a particularly large following in Egypt, Syria, the Palestinian territories and Tunisia, but has been designated as a terrorist organization by numerous regional states including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt.

Most recently, Jordan outlawed the group in April after alleging it took part in a plot against the kingdom. Jordanian authorities have continued to take legal action against the Muslim Brotherhood since then and announced a crackdown in July on charities allegedly tied to the organization. 

The Muslim Brotherhood has historically found a warm reception in Turkey and Qatar, though Doha has banned the group from formally operating in its territory. 

The group has a number of political affiliates throughout the region, including the Islamic Action Front in Jordan and the Brotherhood-inspired Ennahda party in Tunisia. The Islamic Action Front has not been formally banned in Jordan but has come under scrutiny since the Brotherhood was outlawed in April. Ennahda has similarly faced repression since President Kais Saied's 2021 self-coup and its leader, Rached Ghannouchi, is in prison. 

Hamas formed in 1987 during the first intifada in Gaza as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi was elected president of Egypt in 2012 following the Arab Spring protests, but was deposed in a military coup.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office praised Trump for the move in a statement on Sunday, saying the Brotherhood “endangers stability throughout the Middle East and beyond the Middle East.” US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called the move “the right call” in a post on X Sunday. 

The Muslim Brotherhood did not immediately respond to Al-Monitor’s request for comment. 

Some Republican politicians have been calling for action against the Muslim Brotherhood. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas introduced legislation in July to designate the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, following a similar bill being introduced in the House the month prior. Cruz cited the affiliation between Hamas, a designated foreign terrorist organization under US law, and the Brotherhood, as well as the organization's alleged efforts to "destabilize and undermine" US partners in the region, including Egypt and Jordan.

Both bills were introduced to their respective committees and have not advanced since then. 

Know more: Last week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott designated the Muslim Brotherhood as well as the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an advocacy group for American Muslims, as foreign terrorist organizations. The governor then instructed state authorities to investigate alleged criminal activity by both groups. 

CAIR announced it is suing Abbott in response, calling the designation “unconstitutional and defamatory.” The association has repeatedly denied accusations of links to radical groups, including Hamas. 

This developing story has been updated.