Trump administration could designate Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist group

The new Trump administration is debating whether the US should declare the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation and subject it to sanctions, it was reported yesterday.

A faction led by Michael Flynn, Trump’s National Security Advisor, wants to add the Brotherhood to the State Department and US Treasury lists of foreign terrorist organisations , the sources said.

A Trump transition advisor, who wished to remain anonymous, told Reuters: "I know it has been discussed. I’m in favour of it."

The advisor said Flynn’s team discussed adding the group to the US list of terrorist groups but said it was ultimately unclear when or even if the administration ultimately would go ahead with such a move.

US criminal law prohibits people in the United States from knowingly providing "material support" to designated terrorist organisations, and members of such groups are banned from entering the country.

Some conservative and anti-Muslim activists have argued for years that the Brotherhood, which was founded in Egypt in 1928 and sought to establish a worldwide Islamic caliphate by peaceful means, has been a breeding ground for terrorists.