President Donald Trump just dropped a bombshell that’s sure to rattle some cages in the Middle East and beyond. On Sunday, he declared his intention to officially designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization, a move long debated in conservative circles, as Just the News reports. This isn’t just a policy shift; it’s a signal of a no-nonsense approach to national security.
Trump’s announcement, following a hard-hitting exposé by Just the News, aims to curb the influence of a group often accused of destabilizing regions and radicalizing youth, while aligning with actions by several U.S. states and Middle Eastern nations.
Let’s rewind a bit to understand the roots of this decision. The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1928 by Sunni imam Hassan al-Banna, has always pushed for an Islamic state under Sharia law. Its global reach, with chapters and affiliates worldwide, has raised eyebrows for decades.
Dig deeper, and the Brotherhood’s history gets murky fast. Thinkers like Sayyid Qutb, a key figure in the mid-20th century, preached jihad, directly inspiring modern extremists like Osama bin Laden. Offshoots such as Egyptian Islamic Jihad, which assassinated President Anwar Sadat in 1981, and Hamas, a recognized branch, tie the group to violence.
Even in politics, their track record is contentious. Mohamed Morsi, a Brotherhood leader, briefly led Egypt from 2012 to 2013 before being ousted by the military amid mass protests. That’s not exactly a glowing endorsement of stability.
Several Middle Eastern heavyweights -- Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain -- have already banned or branded the Brotherhood as a terrorist entity. If they see the group as a threat, shouldn’t that at least give us pause? It’s not just a Western concern; it’s a regional red flag.
Closer to home, some states aren’t waiting for federal action. On Nov. 18, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott took a bold step, designating both the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as terrorist and criminal organizations. His move even bars CAIR members from buying land in Texas -- a policy with serious teeth.
Abbott doubled down on Nov. 20, directing the Texas Department of Public Safety to investigate both groups for criminal activities. “The goal is to identify, disrupt, and eradicate terrorist organizations engaged in criminal activities in Texas,” Abbott stated. Well, if that’s not a line in the sand, what is?
CAIR, predictably, pushed back hard, filing a lawsuit and claiming Abbott’s actions violate constitutional rights. They called him out for stoking anti-Muslim sentiment, arguing his policies are more about politics than public safety. But when a group’s ties are this tangled, isn’t scrutiny warranted over hurt feelings?
On the federal level, bipartisan support is building. Lawmakers like Sen. Ted Cruz and Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart and Jared Moskowitz have introduced bills in 2025 to label the Brotherhood a terrorist group. Even Secretary of State Marco Rubio hinted in August that such a designation was under serious review, though the process is slowed by the group’s sprawling network.
Cruz didn’t mince words on the stakes involved. “The Muslim Brotherhood is a terrorist organization, and it provides support to Muslim Brotherhood branches that are terrorist organizations,” he said. When a group’s affiliates include Hamas, responsible for horrific attacks, that’s not a statement to shrug off.
Research from think tanks such as the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy has further fueled the fire. Their reports, released throughout 2025, map the Brotherhood’s activities across the Middle East and warn of its strategic influence in the U.S. and Europe.
Internationally, the alarm bells are ringing too. A leaked French report, highlighted by The Free Press in mid-2025, suggested that the Brotherhood is quietly infiltrating European civil society. That’s not just a distant problem; it’s a playbook that could easily cross the Atlantic.
The Brotherhood itself? Radio silence when asked for comment via their English-language site. Perhaps they’re banking on their 2019 statement, “The Muslim Brotherhood will remain stronger -- through God's grace and power -- than any decision,” to do the talking, but dodging accountability isn’t exactly a winning strategy.
Trump’s promise to act “in the strongest and most powerful terms,” with final documents reportedly in progress, suggests this isn’t mere rhetoric. While some may cry foul over civil liberties, the evidence of the Brotherhood’s ties to violence and instability can’t be ignored. In a world of tough choices, prioritizing security over political correctness might just be the conservative clarity we need.
