The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 and has developed into a transnational network of chapters across the Middle East and beyond.
In a news release the White House says its chapters in Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt engage in or facilitate and support violence. They also support destabilization campaigns that harm their own regions, United States citizens and United States interests.
As a result, Trump has officially designated those chapters as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
Once a group is so designated:
-- It becomes a federal crime to knowingly support the group.
-- The group’s assets in the U.S. can be seized or frozen.
-- Members or supporters can face prosecution or deportation.
-- U.S. citizens are barred from conducting business with the group.
-- International pressure increases.
But Muslim Brotherhood chapters in the U.S. are not likely to be affected, says Robert Spencer the director of Jihad Watch.
“The Muslim Brotherhood designation as a terrorist organization is encouraging, but it doesn't go nearly as far as a lot of people assume. The Muslim Brotherhood in the United States is funded not from Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon, but from Qatar and Turkey, both of which the Trump administration count as very important allies of the United States. So, it is unfortunate that the Brotherhood network in the United States is not going to be affected by this designation."
So, Spencer says the resolution doesn't touch the Council on American Islamic Relations.
"The Council on American Islamic Relations has quite clearly, ever since it was founded, been working toward the stated Brotherhood goal of eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within and sabotaging its miserable house. And so that's what Trump ought to be targeting. Unfortunately, this designation does not do so."
