White House to Designate Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Organization

President Donald Trump's White House plans to issue an order designating the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organization, The New York Times reports.

The White House has directed government officials to ensure sanctions against the Muslim Brotherhood, the Sunni Islamist group that backed the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the general who overthrew former President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013, visited the White House earlier this month. During this meeting, Sisi reportedly urged Trump to make the decision.

Although the organization denies using violence, it has been designated a terrorist organization by Egypt, Russia, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. The Muslim Brotherhood calls for society to follow Islamic law, and has influenced the Palestinian group Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, Israel, and Egypt.

"The president has consulted with his national security team and leaders in the region who share his concern, and this designation is working its way through the internal process," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told Reuters in an email.

The White House previously considered designating the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organization during Trump's first few weeks in February, 2017, according to The New York Times.

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