Sen. Ted Cruz and several House Republicans are leading a new legislative effort aimed at compelling the U.S. government to label Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood a “foreign terrorist organization.”
“This bill recognizes the simple fact that the Muslim Brotherhood is a radical Islamic terrorist group,” Cruz said upon the introduction of his Senate version of the bill. “A number of our Muslim allies have taken this common sense step, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the [United Arab Emirates].”
“The group supports and stands behind numerous terrorist organizations that are responsible for acts of violence and aggression,” said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., the lead House sponsor. “It is time for Congress and the Department of State to recognize and sanction them as they deserve, as a foreign terrorist organization.”
The bill, the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act, asks Secretary of State John Kerry to label the organization a foreign terrorist organization within 60 days, or to present a report to Congress detailing why he opted against doing so.
The Muslim Brotherhood is an influential and amorphous institution, operating mostly in Egypt. The group is officially a political and religious movement, but critics allege it is associated with violence and terrorism. It had a fraught but not universally hostile relationship with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, before his ouster in 2011.
It was officially legalized thereafter, only to be banned again following a military coup in 2013 and labeled a terrorist organization.
“The group supports and stands behind numerous terrorist organizations that are responsible for acts of violence and aggression,” Diaz-Balart said.
The bill features a detailed list of alleged crimes perpetuated by the Brotherhood, including having a member involved in “the October 2000 suicide attack targeting the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen, that killed 17 United States Navy sailors,” an event widely seen as the precursor to 9/11.
