The Brotherhood calls for jihad against “the Muslim’s real enemies, not only Israel but also the United States. Waging jihad against both of these infidels is a commandment of Allah that cannot be disregarded.”
The Trump administration is considering designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Some analysts say this decision would increase already tense relations with some regional allies. Critics contend identifying the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization could cause issues with some European allies as well as complicate U.S. relations with Qatar, Turkey, and Tunisia.
But not all Middle Eastern countries would be opposed to the designation, including Egypt – where the Muslim Brotherhood began. Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Russia, and Bahrain already designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. Saudi Arabia, which for half a century helped fund the movement, has banned the Muslim Brotherhood.
So the next logical question is– “so what?” Does the US need to worry about what the organization and their supporters think about our view that they are terrorists? Does it make any difference in our policy? Isn’t it time we stopped worrying about being politically correct and did what was best for America?
What is the Muslim Brotherhood?
The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt almost 90 years ago. The following is from the Muslim Brotherhood fact sheet.
The Muslim Brotherhood’s Motto
“Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. The Qur’an is our law. Jihad is our way.
Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope. Allahu akbar!”
The Brotherhood’s goal is to turn the world into an Islamist empire. The Brotherhood wants America to fall. It tells followers to be “patient” because America “is heading towards its demise.” The US is an infidel that “does not champion moral and human values and cannot lead humanity.” The Brotherhood claims western democracy is “corrupt, unrealistic, and false.”
The Brotherhood calls for jihad against “the Muslim’s real enemies, not only Israel but also the United States. Waging jihad against both of these infidels is a commandment of Allah that cannot be disregarded.”
The Brotherhood assassinated Anwar Sadat in 1981 for making peace with the hated “Zionist” entity Israel. Hamas is a “wing” of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood supports Hezbollah’s war against the Jews. The Brotherhood glorifies Osama bin Laden. The Brotherhood sanctioned martyrdom operations in Palestine.
The Brotherhood advocates violent jihad. The “change that the [Muslim] nation seeks can only be attained through jihad and sacrifice and by raising a jihadi generation that pursues death just as the enemies pursue life.”
Within democracies The Brotherhood advocates a deceptive strategy to appear moderate and use existing institutions to gain power. “The civilizational-jihadist process is a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and sabotaging its miserable house so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious overall other religions.”
The Brotherhood uses democracy, but once in power it will replace democracy with fundamentalist sharia law because it is the “true democracy.”
The Brotherhood’s view of women’s rights is to subjugate and segregate women. They support female genital mutilation. The Brotherhood will not treat non-Muslim minorities, such as Coptic Christians, as equals.
The Brotherhood refuses to commit to continuing the Israel-Egypt peace treaty. Muslim Brotherhood leaders have said that “as far as the movement is concerned, Israel is a Zionist entity occupying holy Arab and Islamic lands, and we will get rid of it no matter how long it takes.” The Brotherhood has anti-Semitic roots and remains virulently anti-Semitic.
What would the Foreign Terror Organization (FTO) designation mean?
Some key advisers to President Donald Trump have long called for the Muslim Brotherhood to be designated a terrorist organization. Author Sebastian Gorka, the director of strategic initiatives at the National Security Council, has called for the Brotherhood to be added to the terrorist list. Frank Gaffney, the president of the Center for Security Policy, a conservative advocacy group that focuses on jihadist threats to the United States, has as well.
Previous attempts to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization faced stiff resistance in the Obama administration. The resistance was in the same light as the Obama administration’s refusal to call radical Islam the primary factor in terrorism today. Under President Trump – the situation has changed.
Secretary of State Tillerson signaled the Trump administration would likely target the Brotherhood, stating that the defeat of the so-called Islamic State terror group “would also allow us to increase our attention on other agents of radical Islam, like Al-Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, and certain elements within Iran, namely the IRGC,” (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps).
According to the State Department, the legal ramifications of designation make it unlawful for a person in the United States, or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to a designated FTO.
The term “material support or resources” is defined as: any property, tangible or intangible, or service, including currency or monetary instruments or financial securities, financial services, lodging, training, expert advice or assistance, safe-houses, false documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances, and explosives. Personnel provides that for these purposes the term ‘training’ means instruction or teaching designed to impart a specific skill, as opposed to general knowledge.
The designation further provides that for these purposes the term ‘expert advice or assistance’ means advice or assistance derived from scientific, technical or other specialized knowledge.
If representatives and members of a designated FTO are aliens they are inadmissible to, and in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
Any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which a designated FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of the Treasury.
Before Al-Qaeda, before ISIS, and before Boko Haram, there was the Muslim Brotherhood. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Osama bin Laden, and Ayman al-Zawahiri belonged to a common ideological precursor, the Muslim Brotherhood. These three extremist leaders highlight the significant ideological overlap between today’s most notorious violent Islamist groups—ISIS and Al-Qaeda—and the worldwide Muslim Brotherhood movement.
Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2017
On January 10, 2017, in an official press release, Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R) Florida said, “I am proud to once again work with Senator Cruz to introduce this legislation in the 115th Congress. The Muslim Brotherhood continues to support terrorist organizations that are responsible for acts of violence around the world. This bill would impose tough sanctions on a hateful group that has spread violence and spawned extremist movements throughout the Middle East. This designation is long overdue.”
I tend to agree.
Jon Harris is an OpsLens contributor and former Army NCO, civilian law enforcement officer, and defense contractor with over 30 years in the law enforcement community. He holds a B.S. in Government and Politics and an M.S. in Criminal Justice.
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