Representative Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) has written to President Donald Trump urging him to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), saying, "Its history of promoting extremist ideologies and terrorist activities through affiliates like Hamas threatens our national & global security."
The Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamist organization, first founded in Egypt in 1928, that seeks to Islamize the world via political activism rather than violence. The organization played a vital role in overthrowing former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during the 2011 Arab Spring protests, subsequently installing Mohammed Morsi.
Morsi himself was overthrown in 2013 by the Egyptian military, and many members of the Brotherhood were imprisoned, exiled, or forced underground. Members have since gained influence in Qatar and Turkey, while offshoots and splinter groups have allied with Hamas and other Islamist terror groups.
As a result, Rep. Moskowitz posted the letter to X (formerly Twitter), saying, "I'm urging the President to conduct a comprehensive investigation to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Its history of promoting extremist ideologies and terrorist activities through affiliates like Hamas threatens our national & global security."
"Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE all declared the Muslim Brotherhood an FTO over a decade ago, and France is considering its own action," Rep. Moskowitz added in a second post. "Following suit would help the U.S. disrupt the Muslim Brotherhood's ability to recruit and finance terror around the globe."
Moskowitz is not the first Florida Congressman calling for the FTO designation for Islamist factions, as Representative Greg Steube (R-FL) urged President Trump in February to designate Iran-connected Shia militias operating in Iraq as FTOs, impose sanctions and deny security funding to Iraq until they delegitimize the militias as part of their security apparatus.
"Replacing ISIS with Iran-backed terrorist militias does not make sense and only fuels the onslaught of terror that the Iranian regime seeks to export," said Rep. Steube, adding, "Furthermore, many Iran-backed militias in Iraq have not even been designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, including the Badr Corps itself."
