American President Donald Trump signed a decree on Monday, November 24, triggering a process by which Muslim Brotherhood branches in certain countries must be designated as “foreign terrorist organizations.”
The text released by the White House notes that there is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood “in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt”the country where the movement was founded, “commit or encourage and support campaigns of violence and destabilization that harm their own region, US citizens, or US interests”.
It will be up to diplomacy chief Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to complete the appointment process. Classification as a “foreign terrorist organization” allows, in addition to political pressure, to take a series of financial and administrative measures: freezing of assets, ban on transactions, ban on entry into American territory, etc.
A movement that is banned in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan
The Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational organization founded in many countries, has long been the main opposition movement in Egypt despite decades of repression. It is currently considered a “terrorist” organization in the country, but it was removed from the political landscape in 2013, after a brief one-year mandate from one of their organisations, Mohamed Morsi.
The Muslim Brotherhood carries a conservative political Islam project. The movement has been banned in several other countries, including Saudi Arabia and most recently, in April, Jordan. This country is associated with brotherhood “activities that may disturb the stability of the country”especially the manufacture and storage of rockets and explosives. In France, President Emmanuel Macron dedicated two defense and national security councils this year “entryism” from the Muslim Brotherhood.
