US Senator introducing bill to declare Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation?

It has been broadly reported that US Senator Ted Cruz is introducing a bill to officially declare the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation. This is part of a meticulous and long campaign led by the Republican from Texas.

The bill, nonetheless, is going to adopt a “bottom-up” strategy to first identify Brotherhood branches that explicitly engage in terrorism before designating the entire organisation. This approach is going to take care of the democratic opposition and potential criticism.

US efforts to designate Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation

Multiple Republican senators joined Ted Cruz in sponsoring the Senate bill, including Tom Cotton, Rick Scott and John Boozman. Cruz emphasizes that the Muslim Brotherhood poses a serious danger to US national security interests.

The senator underscores the need to blacklist the organisation to stop its support for terrorist groups. The bill noted that Hamas is a branch of the Brotherhood, according to its charter – highlighting the brutal attack Hamas unleashed against people in Israel on October 7, 2023.

The bill also notes that the Muslim Brotherhood operates as a global organisation, offering support to its branches in countries and regions across the globe in the form of political support, financial resources, training and communications assistance.

It has been broadly reported by different media agencies that the Muslim Brotherhood branches pose a great threat to the stability of US allies and partners throughout the Middle East. Efforts to designate the group as a terrorist organisation is definitely deepening in the US.

Global efforts to dry up Muslim Brotherhood’s funding sources

The latest US efforts to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation come as part of an ongoing Middle East and European pressure campaign to address the threat posed by the group to the national security landscape in different countries.

On July 7, French President Emmanuel Macron chaired an urgent meeting of the National Security Council. It appears France is going to get more serious about drying up the Brotherhood’s funding sources and expanding sanctions against it.