Washington, Aug 3 (NationPress) The United States is progressively moving towards formally classifying the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, a pivotal decision not only for American national security but also for worldwide initiatives aimed at tackling the ideological basis of political Islamism, as reported.

The initiative to label the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist entity follows the introduction of a bipartisan bill by Republican Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart and Democratic Congressman Jared Moskowitz in mid-July. Recent confirmation came from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

This unusual bipartisan agreement underscores a growing acknowledgment within U.S. political circles that the Brotherhood, despite its well-crafted image as a political movement, functions as the ideological nucleus for a vast array of violent Islamist actors, including Hamas and factions of Al-Qaeda, according to a report by The Capitol Institute.

Moreover, influential policy organizations such as the Heritage Foundation, the Israeli-American Civic Action Network (ICAN), and the American Mideast Coalition for Democracy (AMCD) have voiced their support for the legislation.

These groups have consistently pointed out the dual strategy employed by the Brotherhood, which involves presenting a modern facade publicly while simultaneously funding, supporting, and inciting extremist violence through proxies.

The report also highlights U.S. Senator Ted Cruz as a staunch advocate for legislation aimed at the Brotherhood, having proposed similar bills since 2015. He asserts that the Brotherhood acts as an “ideological incubator for terrorism”, arguing that recognizing it as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) is “not merely symbolic — it is a strategic necessity.”

Furthermore, the Muslim Brotherhood is depicted not merely as a political faction with grievances but as a “global project rooted in the radical vision” of Hasan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb, pursuing the establishment of an Islamic order through infiltration, indoctrination, and ultimately, imposition.

The threat posed by the Muslim Brotherhood to liberal democracies originated in Cairo, Egypt, after the Ottoman Empire's collapse in 1922. A Sufi preacher from Egypt, Hassan al-Banna, founded Jamia Hasafia al-Khairiyyah in 1928, aiming to revive the Islamic Caliphate.

While traditional Islamic theology emphasizes the concept of Tawheed (monotheism), al-Banna reoriented the purpose of Muslim existence towards establishing a political Caliphate, even if it required rebellion against existing governments. Following limited appeal among Shiites and Salafis, al-Banna rebranded the group as Al-Ikhwan al-Muslimeen — the Muslim Brotherhood.

After Hassan al-Banna's assassination in 1949, Sayyid Qutb took over the group, whose ideologies would later shape modern jihadist movements. His writings garnered attention from radicals like Abul Ala Maududi and Nawab Safavi, creating a revolutionary Islamist doctrine that ultimately inspired the 1979 Iranian Revolution and groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS, as per the report.

Osama bin Laden's mother, Hamida al-Attas, revealed that her son's radicalization was influenced by Abdullah Azzam, a Palestinian Brotherhood member who recruited him at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the current Al-Qaeda leader, also began his journey with the Brotherhood, the report noted.

The Brotherhood's inner circle regards the Murshid as a spiritual guide and as God's vicegerent on earth.

The Brotherhood's expansion from Cairo to Tripoli, Ankara, and Gaza has been accompanied by chaos, bloodshed, and institutional collapse.

In recent decades, significant challenges to the ideological underpinnings of the Muslim Brotherhood have emerged not from Western think tanks but from within the Islamic scholarly community itself, as the report indicated.

Prominent Islamic scholars such as Shaykh Rabee bin Hadee al-Madkhali, Yemenese Sunni scholar Shaykh Muqbil bin Hadee al-Wadee, Indian Islamic scholar Shaykh Mohammed Rahmani, among others, have issued serious warnings against Hamas and its objectives.

The report also states that several Middle Eastern countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Jordan, have officially banned the Muslim Brotherhood and related groups, citing national security concerns, radicalization, and the group's role as a “subversive political force.”

Moreover, Russia and European countries like Austria and Germany have also taken measures against the Muslim Brotherhood.

The U.S. has moved to designate Hamas as a terrorist organization but has refrained from targeting its ideological source — the Muslim Brotherhood — which continues to function under the radar in America through soft-power institutions, advocacy groups, and educational initiatives, The Capitol Institute's report highlights.

To effectively neutralize the Islamic group's influence, it is essential to eradicate the root cause rather than just its violent offshoots.

Ignoring this foundational system while merely attacking its violent branches is akin to “trimming weeds while allowing the roots to spread underground.”