President Donald Trump has signed an executive order designating certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters as potential terrorist entities, signaling a marked shift in U.S. counterterrorism strategy. The directive, signed on November 24, mandates the State and Treasury departments to assess the movement’s branches in Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon under U.S. designation laws. This decision comes after a scathing report urged the U.S. government to label the group as a terrorist organization, with Sen. Ted Cruz endorsing the move as essential for national security. The order aims to bypass past debates on the group’s global structure by focusing on individual chapters that may meet legal criteria for designation. The U.S. is now reviewing the Brotherhood’s activities, which operates with relative freedom in the West, despite being banned in several Middle Eastern countries. The initiative could reshape the approach to combating a movement that has faced scrutiny for its role in regional instability.
Washington has long debated whether the Muslim Brotherhood is a unified global movement or a loose network of national branches with different agendas and levels of militancy. That debate stalled previous attempts to designate the group. Trump’s order bypasses this contention and directs federal agencies to examine individual chapters that analysts say already meet the legal thresholds. Mariam Wahba, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, stated that the directive replaces years of debate with concrete action, forcing federal agencies to assess Brotherhood entities that function as real organizations with leadership structures, financing channels, and documented ties to terrorist groups. She emphasized that the order treats Islamist actors according to their behavior, not their branding.
Across the Arab world, the Brotherhood has been banned for years, with Egypt outlawing it in 2013 after accusing the movement of radicalization and efforts to undermine state institutions. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates designated it soon after, calling it a direct threat to national stability. Bahrain issued similar findings. Jordan dissolved its local chapter this year, following arrests tied to illicit weapons activity. Austria has also taken legal action against Brotherhood-linked networks as part of its counter-extremism framework. Officials in these countries assert that the Brotherhood uses a blend of religious preaching, political activism, charitable institutions, and media platforms to shape public opinion and challenge state authority.
In the West, the Brotherhood operates far more freely. In the United States, Brotherhood-linked organizations function through charities, advocacy centers, mosques, student associations, and community groups. This openness has raised concerns among counterterrorism officials, especially after a U.S. federal investigation in the early 2000s uncovered an internal Brotherhood memorandum describing its work in America as a long-term effort to influence and weaken Western institutions from within. A French government-commissioned report earlier this year warned of the Brotherhood’s influence in the country, though Paris has yet to officially implement a ban.
The movement was founded in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna in Egypt after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The Brotherhood promoted Islam as the solution to modern political crises and relied on outreach, services, and media to expand its base. Influential thinkers like Sayyid Qutb later inspired jihadist movements such as al Qaeda and the Islamic State group. Although the Brotherhood historically maintained a symbolic