White House Urged to Label Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Group to Deter Influence in the West

The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism & Policy (ISGAP) has written to US President Donald Trump urging his administration to designate the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), arguing that a formal listing would help US authorities disrupt the group's networks and deter influence operations in the West. The two-page letter, dated October 21, 2025, was signed by ISGAP founding director Dr. Charles Asher Small and delivered to the White House.

In the letter, Small praises the administration's stated review of the Muslim Brotherhood under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, calling it "an important and necessary step toward strengthening international security." He frames the Brotherhood as a movement that "advanc[es] extremist narratives and support[s] terrorist activities," and highlights Hamas—which the letter describes as the Palestinian chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood—as the most prominent affiliate.

Founded at Yale University and now operating globally, with its flagship summer institute at Oxford University, ISGAP is a high-level academic research institute that brings together leading scholars, policymakers and practitioners to analyze and counter contemporary antisemitism and extremism. Its research has informed policy discussions in the US, Europe and the Middle East, bridging scholarship and governance.

ISGAP's appeal to the White House lands amid a broader policy push in Washington. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been a vocal proponent of a tougher approach to Islamist extremism; he is also CC'd on the ISGAP letter in his role as Secretary of State (the letter lists him as acting national security adviser as well). On Capitol Hill, lawmakers introduced parallel measures this summer, including HR 3883 ("Muslim Brotherhood Is a Terrorist Organization Act of 2025") in the House and a companion bill led by Sen. Ted Cruz in the Senate. A bipartisan House press release from Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart and Jared Moskowitz likewise urged action.

Small's letter argues that an FTO designation would expand the legal tools available to US law enforcement and intelligence agencies—particularly around financing and recruitment—"to disrupt the Muslim Brotherhood's financial and institutional networks" and "limit its influence operations." Under US law, FTO listings trigger criminal penalties for material support and enable asset freezes and immigration restrictions.

ISGAP also situates the request in a global context. The letter notes that key US partners—it lists Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Bahrain—have branded or treated the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, and it points to European actions: Austria's 2021 ban and French measures including asset freezes and a government-commissioned report on the group's activities.

The White House has telegraphed interest before. Administration allies and outside advocates have argued for years that designating the Muslim Brotherhood writ large would send a strong signal to Islamist movements and their financial enablers, and would align US policy with Middle Eastern partners that outlawed the group in 2013–2014. Saudi Arabia and the UAE formally proscribed the Brotherhood in 2014; Egypt banned it following the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi.

Small asserts that rising antisemitism and anti-democratic agitation in the West are intertwined with MB-aligned propaganda and money flows—an argument the institute has advanced in its multi-year "Follow the Money" project documenting foreign funding in higher education and civil society. In May and June, ISGAP published research alleging extensive influence operations tied to Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood in US and European universities, calling for strict transparency and enforcement.

In keeping with that thesis, the letter links the proposed designation to domestic resilience as well as Middle East security. The Brotherhood, it says, "presents itself as a political or social movement" yet advances anti-American and antisemitic ideologies through networks that are often difficult to police without the authorities a formal designation confers. The requested listing, Small argues, would "defend US national security and our democratic values."

Whether the administration will move on to a global designation remains an open question. Prior attempts—including bills in earlier Congresses and quiet interagency reviews—have repeatedly run into the definitional tangle: what counts as the Brotherhood, who decides, and how to distinguish between violent actors, non-violent Islamists, and unaffiliated Muslim civic groups that authoritarian states sometimes sweep into the same basket. European cases reflect the same tension: some measures have targeted specific organizations or financing channels, while others apply broad bans that rights advocates have challenged.

Still, the political momentum is notable. In recent months, senior Republicans have cheered the idea publicly, and State Department readouts highlight Rubio's harder line on transnational extremism since taking office in January. If the administration chooses a targeted approach—designating named entities rather than an umbrella term—it could sidestep some pitfalls while still signaling a shift.

For ISGAP, the stakes are urgent and moral. The letter closes with a call to "complete [the] review without delay." In Small's telling, the threat is not theoretical, and it doesn't end at borders: the Brotherhood's ideological ecosystem, he contends, animates affiliates and justifies violence—and a US designation would be one more lever to constrain it. Whether Washington agrees—and how broadly it defines the target—will determine how far this latest push goes.

About the Contributor: Ahmad Sharif is a Saudi journalist and commentator covering regional affairs, social change, and economic reform across the Middle East. His work focuses on the Kingdom's evolving role in a rapidly transforming region.