TerrorismIs the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization?
The Trump administration as well as Republican lawmakers are seeking to introduce legislation that would designate the Muslim Brotherhood a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Many are questioning this move. The fact is that the Muslim Brotherhood has not been directly involved in any violent terror attacks in recent decades. Indeed, designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization could have the effect of limiting the opportunities for those Muslims who are attracted by the Muslim Brotherhood’s moderate agenda to engage in politics. It could even accelerate recruitment to terrorist outfits – a possibility that the Trump administration might seek to take into account.
The Trump administration as well as Republican lawmakers are seeking to introduce legislation that would designate the Muslim Brotherhood a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).
Many are questioning this move. The fact is that the Muslim Brotherhood has not been directly involved in any violent terror attacks in recent decades.
I have been studying Islam and politics over many years, and have learned that this is a highly complex phenomenon. Given its informal character and the diffuse nature of its organization, labeling the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organization is not as simple as it seems.
To understand the Muslim Brotherhood, we need to first know how it is structured, and what it represents ideologically.
The different groups
The Muslim Brotherhood exists both in the form of local organizations (in Egypt, Jordan and so on) and in the form of an international organization. The international Muslim Brotherhood has, however, little influence over any of the local organizations.
The point is that the term “Muslim Brotherhood” represents a broader ideological trend. There are numerous organizations and groups across the Muslim world that to a varying degree associate themselves with this current.
Some of them use the name of the Muslim Brotherhood, while others operate under different labels. One example is the National Islamic Front (NIF), that was established in the 1960 as the Sudanese Islamic Charter Front.
There are also a number of informal groups, such as the Ethiopian Intellectualist Movement, that rather selectively find inspiration from the Muslim Brotherhood’s thinkers without appropriating the entirety of the Muslim Brotherhood’s ideology.
None of these groups could be characterized as branches of one unified Muslim Brotherhood. There does not exist any worldwide hierarchical structure. Nor are there any formal links between any of these organizations.
Most of them have produced independent thinkers and developed ideological profiles that focus more on local issues. All this makes it difficult to speak about a coherent Muslim Brotherhood ideology.
The origins and spread of the Brotherhood
The original Muslim Brotherhood was established in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna, an Egyptian schoolteacher. Its initial activities were concentrated in the town of Ismailiyah, in northeastern Egypt. However, due to al-Banna’s charismatic personality and skills as a community organizer, the group grew rapidly into a mass organization throughout Egypt.
