Daijiworld Media Network - Washington

Washington, Nov 25: In a major policy shift with wide regional implications, US President Donald Trump on Monday initiated the process to label specific chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) — a move that would impose sanctions on one of the Arab world’s most influential Islamist networks.

According to a White House fact sheet, Trump signed an executive order directing Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to evaluate whether Brotherhood chapters in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and other regions meet the criteria for terrorist designation. The secretaries must submit a report and, within 45 days of that report, move ahead with designations where deemed necessary.

The Trump administration has accused several Brotherhood-linked factions of supporting or encouraging attacks against Israel and American partners in the Middle East, and of offering material support to Hamas, the Palestinian militant group already designated as a terrorist organisation by the US.

“President Trump is confronting the Muslim Brotherhood’s transnational network, which fuels terrorism and destabilization campaigns against US interests and allies in the Middle East,” the White House said.

Founded in Egypt in the 1920s, the Muslim Brotherhood began as a socio-political movement resisting Western influence and promoting Islamic governance. Over the decades, it spread across the Muslim world — sometimes openly, often covertly — influencing political discourse and shaping religious conservatism across the region.

Trump’s directive marks one of Washington’s toughest approaches toward the Brotherhood, signalling potential diplomatic ripples across the Middle East and North Africa as several countries maintain varying degrees of engagement with the organisation.