US President Donald Trump has ordered officials to examine whether to designate some chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorists groups, a move that would target the group with economic and travel sanctions.
His executive order on Monday calls for his top aides to produce a report investigating whether the branches in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan should be listed as foreign terrorist organisations and specially designated global terrorists.
The order cites the groups’ alleged ties to Hamas, and “destabilization campaigns that harm their own regions, United States citizens, and United States interests”.
The Muslim Brotherhood, founded almost 100 years ago, is banned in Jordan and Egypt.
The executive order directs US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to consult Attorney General Pam Bondi and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and to produce a report within 30 days.
It then gives the US officials 45 days to levy sanctions if they are determined to be warranted.
The designation, which Trump could order at any time, would make it illegal to provide support for the group. It would also lead to economic sanctions, and the banning of its members from entering the US.
“President Trump is confronting the Muslim Brotherhood’s transnational network, which fuels terrorism and destabilization campaigns against US interests and allies in the Middle East,” the White House said in a statement.
Last week, the governor of Texas declared the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organisation and transnational criminal organisation.
The Texas order also assigns the same status to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim advocacy group in the US, and prevents both groups from being able to purchase land in the state.
The Brotherhood was founded in Egypt almost 100 years ago and has local branches across the world. Each chapter varies in ideology, and one of its aims is to create a state ruled by Islamic law, or Sharia.
Trump considered designating the group a terrorist organisation during his first term after meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi. It is outlawed in Egypt and several Arab countries, whose governments see it as a threat.
In April, Jordan banned the group after arresting members on suspicion of planning rocket and drone attacks.
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