Jordanian demonstrators waving green Muslim Brotherhood flags and other banners shout anti-Israel slogans during a mass rally on January 4, 2009. (Photo via: KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP via Getty Images)
OAN Staff Brooke Mallory 6:37 PM – Monday, November 24, 2025
Kicking off the week with momentum just ahead of the holiday season, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the State and Treasury Departments to formally initiate the process of designating chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) and specially designated global terrorists (SDGTs).
The MB, founded in 1928, is more mainstream in the “Islamist ecosystem,” as it has millions of followers, operates legal political parties in places like Jordan and Tunisia, and has won elections. Unlike al-Qaeda or ISIS, which reject democracy and more so prioritize spectacle violence, the MB emphasizes gradual societal Islamization via “dawa” (outreach) and elections, though the group has also been connected to Hamas and post-October 7, 2023, rocket attacks.
The MB is also one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements. While a small portion of its political wings claim to disavow violence, several governments — including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain — already classify the entire organization or major branches as terrorist entities.
President Trump is securing America by confronting the Muslim Brotherhood’s transnational network, which fuels terrorism and destabilization campaigns against U.S. interests and allies in the Middle East. pic.twitter.com/B2ipr0Hrci
“It will be done in the strongest and most powerful terms,” Trump told Just the News over the weekend. “Final documents are being drawn.”
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As the holiday season approaches, analysts say there is a notable pattern where Islamist terrorist groups and inspired individuals have targeted attacks on or immediately before Thanksgiving and Christmas, particularly in regions with significant Christian populations or during holiday gatherings like markets and church services.
The trend is driven by a combination of strategic opportunism, exploiting crowded events for maximum impact and media attention, and ideological motivations — such as viewing Thanksgiving or Christmas celebrations as symbols of “infidel” Western or Christian culture that must be disrupted.
Jihadist groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda, though separate from the Muslim Brotherhood, have also issued seasonal calls via Telegram and other channels for attacks on “crusaders” during Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Meanwhile, the order instructs Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to evaluate and implement designations against Muslim Brotherhood entities in a number of countries. Once finalized, the designations would trigger sweeping U.S. sanctions, including asset freezes, travel bans, and criminal penalties for providing material support to the groups.
A senior administration official described the move as a “decisive step” to dismantle the Muslim Brotherhood’s transnational network, citing the organization’s historical and ongoing ties to Hamas and other terrorist groups — as well as its role in supporting rocket attacks from Lebanon following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.
The designation process revives an effort first pursued during Trump’s initial term, though it was never completed due to internal debates. By mid-2017, certain lawyers and other officials in the administration evaluated the Brotherhood and concluded there was “no legal basis” for a full designation, opting instead for targeted sanctions on two Egyptian splinter groups — Liwa al-Thawra and Harakat Sawa’d Misr.
National security staff, government lawyers, and diplomatic officials raised objections in relation to the Brotherhood being highly decentralized, with “a loose-knit structure and far-flung political ties” that makes it legally difficult to treat as a single terrorist organization. Additionally, by late 2019, the momentum waned. Internal resistance proved insurmountable, and the administration pivoted to other priorities amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 election.
Nonetheless, Monday’s executive order removes previous ambiguities by focusing on specific national chapters rather than attempting a blanket designation of the entire Brotherhood.
On November 18th, Governor Greg Abbott (R-Texas) issued a proclamation labeling both the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as terrorist entities under state law, prompting several universities and companies to review ties with the groups.
CAIR’s X account is routed through the Turkish App Store.
This sure seems like an international operations link between CAIR and a country tied to the Muslim Brotherhood.
I designated CAIR a terrorist and transnational criminal organization because of ties like this to that… pic.twitter.com/CpiIBtI2Tr
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt informed reporters that the designations will cut off funding streams, expose front organizations, and send an unmistakable message that the United States will no longer tolerate the Muslim Brotherhood’s decades-long campaign of deception and support for terrorism.
Meanwhile, some civil-liberties advocates and foreign-policy scholars warn that broad designations could “strain relations with allies” such as Jordan and Qatar, where Brotherhood-affiliated parties remain legal, and might complicate U.S. counterterrorism cooperation with governments that host Brotherhood exiles.
The State Department has 180 days to complete its review and submit formal recommendations, after which the designations would be published in the Federal Register and take immediate effect.
If implemented, as anticipated, the measures would be one of the most significant U.S. actions against a mainstream Islamist movement since the post-9/11 era, distinguishing it from prior designations of violent jihadist networks.
The move also aligns with bipartisan congressional pushes, such as the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2025, which frames the MB as a “transnational Islamist organization” enabling terrorism via affiliates like Hamas.
Meanwhile, on social media platforms, a slew of notable conservative commentators hailed the Trump administration’s announcement as being long overdue, while more left-wing detractors decried it as an “Islamophobic overreach.”
However, one vocal conservative commentator, Laura Loomer — who has previously met with President Trump and advised him on personnel, national security and policy issues — expressed frustration with the executive order’s limited scope, criticizing it for targeting only “certain chapters” of the Muslim Brotherhood rather than designating the entire organization.
“The Muslim Brotherhood designation signed by President Trump today doesn’t have any teeth, as it doesn’t include the Muslim Brotherhood in Qatar, Turkey, or Syria, which are the most aggressive “chapters” of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Executive Order mentions chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan & Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood is already banned and outlawed. This designation is probably the weakest designation of the Muslim Brotherhood we could have ever received, as it doesn’t even apply to Qatar and Turkey. Looks like my scoop has been confirmed. A week ago, I exclusively reported that the plan to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as one sweeping terror designation was killed off at the request of Qatar, the biggest financier of the Muslim Brotherhood. This is very disappointing. While I’m grateful President Trump signed an Executive Order designating “chapters” of the Muslim Brotherhood, the problems we face as a nation come from Qatar and Turkey. This feels like Kabuki theatre. The designation should be defined as all Muslim Brotherhood affiliated, identifying, funded entities, or any other entity advocating for the subjugation or replacement of the US Constitution as the supreme law of the land with Shariah Law or other Islamic law. As I predicted, it doesn’t look like this Executive Order will do much to combat the Muslim Brotherhood or Islamic terrorism in the US. Qatar and Turkey successfully lobbied the Trump admin to protect their terrorist interests. This is unfortunate.”
NEW:
The Muslim Brotherhood designation signed by President Trump today doesn’t have any teeth, as it doesn’t include the Muslim Brotherhood in Qatar, Turkey, or Syria, which are the most aggressive “chapters” of the Muslim Brotherhood.
