In US, demands for designating Brotherhood as a ‘terrorist’ group

Nahla Abdelmonem

The designation by Arab states of the Muslim Brotherhood as a “terrorist” organization has encouraged some Western political forces to ask their governments to do the same.

A number of US lawmakers strive to include the group on the list of extremist organizations, using Arab experiences as justification for this demand.

Egypt, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia classified the Brotherhood as a “terrorist” group.

Egypt was affected by intense violence carried out by the group against the backdrop of the overthrow of Muslim Brotherhood president Mohamed Morsi in June 2013.

The violence perpetrated by the group in Egypt offered the impetus for the international community to denounce the group’s actions.

Some US Congressmen are discussing the need for giving a terrorist designation to the Brotherhood.

They highlight the dangers the Islamist movement poses to the American society.

These dangers, they say, emanate from the ideology of the group, noting that almost all terrorist organizations in the world derive their ideological lines from the Muslim Brotherhood.

The same members of Congress refer to dangerous terrorist organizations, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and al-Qaeda and draw links between them and the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Brotherhood, they say, played an important role in shaping the radical thoughts of the leaders of these organizations.

The current leader of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, referred to the Brotherhood in his book “Knights under the Banner of the Prophet”.

He especially refers to the ideas of Brotherhood theoretician Sayed Qotb.

Al-Zawahiri describes Qotb as an “inspirer” who formed his consciousness and from whom he drew his ideas about fighting non-believers.

He thanks the Brotherhood for laying the foundations of extremist thought.