Latest news with #MuslimBrotherhoodTerroristDesignationAct
Roya News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Roya News
Calls grow in Congress to label Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist group
Calls are intensifying on Capitol Hill to label the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, as some US lawmakers link the group to a recent attack at a pro-"Israel" rally in Colorado. Senator Ted Cruz announced plans to reintroduce a revamped version of the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act, saying in a post on X that he has been advocating for it 'my entire Senate career.' In the coming days, I will be circulating and re-introducing a modernized version of the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act, which I have been pushing for my entire Senate career. As I told the Free Beacon, the Muslim Brotherhood used the Biden administration to… — Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) June 3, 2025 He accused the movement of exploiting the Biden administration 'to consolidate and deepen their influence,' and warned that Republicans can 'no longer afford to avoid the threat they pose to Americans and American national security.' Congressman Jared Moskowitz also weighed in, sending a letter to President Donald Trump urging an official investigation into designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. 'The organisation has a documented history of promoting extremist ideologies and supporting terrorist activities through various affiliates,' Moskowitz wrote, explicitly naming Hamas. 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. — Congressman Jared Moskowitz (@RepMoskowitz) June 3, 2025 Other right-leaning figures, such as Congressman Randy Fine, have extended these accusations to US-based advocacy groups like the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), claiming they are funded by the Muslim Brotherhood. According to Jewish Insider, Fine described CAIR as the group's 'mouthpiece' in the US and offered to sponsor the Brotherhood designation bill in the House. The push comes after an Egyptian national, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was accused of stabbing multiple people at a pro-"Israel" demonstration in Colorado on June 1. Eight individuals were injured in the attack. Soliman had reportedly shared Facebook posts in support of Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's former president and a prominent figure in the Muslim Brotherhood. Morsi was ousted in a 2013 military coup and died in 2019 during a court hearing. The incident has reignited far-right rhetoric. Commentator Laura Loomer labeled Soliman a 'Muslim Brotherhood terrorist' and called for sweeping deportations of Muslim immigrants. 'We need mass deportations and an Islamic travel ban ASAP,' she posted on X, blaming Republicans for being 'too afraid of being called 'Islamophobes'.' It's not enough for Republican candidates to simply say 'deport illegals'. They need to explicitly speak out about Islam and the Muslim Brotherhood. We are being killed and maimed by Muslim immigrants because Republicans were too afraid of being called 'Islamophobes'. Now… — Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) June 2, 2025 In a swift reaction, the Trump administration announced that Soliman's wife and five children had been taken into ICE custody and could be deported 'as early as tonight.' Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called Soliman a 'terrorist' and said authorities were investigating whether his family had knowledge of or involvement in the attack. Six One-Way Tickets for Mohamed's Wife and Five Kids. Final Boarding Call Coming Soon. — The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 3, 2025 Trump had previously considered banning the Brotherhood during his first term after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's visit to Washington in 2019. While officials from the Pentagon and State Department raised objections at the time, pressure to act may resurface as the 2024 political climate intensifies.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cruz to reintroduce bill labeling Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group after Boulder attack
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is planning to reintroduce a bill that would designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group after the Boulder, Colo., attack perpetrated by Mohamed Soliman. Soliman, an Egyptian citizen, has publicly supported the group on his social media accounts, according to reports from CNN. Cruz said Tuesday that he would craft a 'modernized version' of the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act he previously backed while blaming Democrats for a lack of constraints. 'The Muslim Brotherhood uses political violence to achieve political ends and destabilize American allies, both within countries and across national boundaries. The Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood is Hamas, a terrorist group which on October 7th committed the largest one day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, and which included the murder and kidnapping of dozens of Americans,' Cruz said in a statement to The Hill. 'The Brotherhood used the Biden administration to consolidate and deepen their influence, but the Trump administration and Republican Congress can no longer afford to avoid the threat they pose to Americans and American national security,' he added. The Muslim Brotherhood has been designated a terrorist organization in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The label was given after members were successfully elected to political positions of power prior to military rule in Egypt, where the group was founded. Their worldwide reputation is linked to violence, although its originators renounced brutal attacks in the 1970s and earned popular support by providing social services such as pharmacies, hospitals and schools, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Lawmakers across the aisle have sided with Cruz, urging President Trump to denounce the Muslim Brotherhood with a terrorist organization designation. 'Its history of promoting extremist ideologies and terrorist activities through affiliates like Hamas threatens our national & global security,' Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) wrote in a Tuesday post on the social platform X. Trump considered undertaking the measure during his first administration but never designated the organization as a terrorist group. At the time, lawmakers and national officials did not believe the group met the criteria to be labeled as a foreign terrorist organization. The White House and Cruz's office did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment on the matter. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Cruz to reintroduce bill labeling Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group after Boulder attack
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is planning to re-introduce a bill that would designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group after the Boulder attack launched by Mohamed Soliman. Soliman, an Egyptian citizen, has publicly supported the group on his social media accounts, according to reports from CNN. Cruz said Tuesday that he would craft a 'modernized version' of the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act he previously backed while blaming Democrats for a lack of constraints. 'The Muslim Brotherhood uses political violence to achieve political ends and destabilize American allies, both within countries and across national boundaries. The Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood is Hamas, a terrorist group which on October 7th committed the largest one day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, and which included the murder and kidnapping of dozens of Americans,' Cruz said in a statement to The Hill. 'The Brotherhood used the Biden administration to consolidate and deepen their influence, but the Trump administration and Republican Congress can no longer afford to avoid the threat they pose to Americans and American national security,' he added. The Muslim Brotherhood has been designated as a terrorist organization in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The label was given after members were successfully elected to political positions of power prior to military rule in Egypt, where the group was founded. Their worldwide reputation is linked to violence although its originators renounced brutal attacks in the 1970s and earned popular support by providing social services such as pharmacies, hospitals, and schools according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Lawmakers across the aisle have sided with Cruz, urging President Trump to denounce the Muslim Brotherhood with a terrorist organization designation. 'Its history of promoting extremist ideologies and terrorist activities through affiliates like Hamas threatens our national & global security,' Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) wrote in a Tuesday post on X. Trump considered undertaking the measure during his first administration but ultimately never designated the organization as a terrorist group. At the time, lawmakers and national officials did not believe the group met the criteria to be labeled as a foreign terrorist organization. The White House and Cruz's office did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment on the matter.
Middle East Eye
6 days ago
- General
- Middle East Eye
Handful of US lawmakers demand Trump ban the Muslim Brotherhood
Calls on Capitol Hill are mounting to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation after a suspect accused of attacking a pro-Israel rally in Colorado is alleged to have expressed support for a former Egyptian president who was a member of the group. Republican Senator Ted Cruz on Tuesday said he planned to re-introduce 'a modernized version of the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act, which I have been pushing for my entire Senate career', in a post on X on Tuesday. Cruz accused the Muslim Brotherhood movement of using the Biden administration 'to consolidate and deepen their influence. But the Trump administration and Republican Congress can no longer afford to avoid the threat they pose to Americans and American national security'. Meanwhile, US Congressman Jared Moskowitz wrote a letter to President Donald Trump asking him to carry out an 'investigation to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a Foreign Terrorist Organization.' He accused the organisation of having a 'documented history of promoting extremist ideologies and supporting terrorist activities through various affiliates'. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters He accused Hamas of being one such affiliate. Other politicians, such as self-proclaimed Zionist Congressman Randy Fine, took the opportunity to take a swipe at US organisations such as Muslim civil rights and advocacy group Council on American–Islamic Relations (Cair) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), who he accused of being funded by the Muslim Brotherhood. Jewish Insider published an article on Wednesday saying that Fine accused the Muslim Brotherhood of funding Cair, SJP and other pro-Palestine groups. He also described Cair as the US 'mouthpiece' of the Muslim Brotherhood. Jewish Insider also reported that Fine had reached out to Cruz 'to offer to lead the Muslim Brotherhood legislation in the House'. Cair had not responded to a request for comment by the time of publication. Colorado attack The calls coincide with an incident on 1 June, where an Egyptian national, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was accused of attacking protesters rallying in support of Israeli captives in Gaza. Eight people were injured during the attack. A profile by CNN said that Soliman had posted pictures on Facebook of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi, who served as the democratically elected leader of Egypt from 2012 to 2013 before he was ousted in a military coup that the US is said to have tacitly supported. Morsi died in 2019 after collapsing during a court hearing on espionage charges. Egyptian state TV reported he died from a heart attack. The Muslim Brotherhood called the death a "murder". CNN said Soliman's Facebook was last updated 10 years ago. The attack has fuelled calls for mass deportations of Muslims and another Muslim travel ban by leading MAGA figures such as Laura Loomer. Loomer, who has been calling Soliman a 'Muslim Brotherhood terrorist' for days, has also been calling for Muslim immigrants to be deported. In a post on X, she said, 'We are being killed and maimed by Muslim immigrants because Republicans were too afraid of being called 'Islamophobes'. She added that elderly Jews and young Christian Zionists were being 'murdered by these Muslim imports who hate our country and who hate everything non Islamic. They need to be removed from our country if they hate us.' In another post, she wrote, 'We need mass deportations and an Islamic travel ban ASAP!' Loomer has spent days calling for Soliman and his family to be deported. The Trump administration has been swift in its response. The White House announced on X on Tuesday that the wife and five children of Soliman had been 'captured' and were in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and 'COULD BE DEPORTED AS EARLY AS TONIGHT'. Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem called Soliman a 'terrorist' and 'illegal alien' in a video on Tuesday and said that they were 'investigating to what extent his family knew about this heinous attack, if they had knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it'. Muslim Brotherhood The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in 1928 in Egypt, and in the 1940s formed a secret, armed wing to fight against British colonial rule. It renounced violence in the 1960s and later embraced electoral democracy instead. It is one of the largest and most well-known Islamic movements. It has long maintained that it is a peaceful organisation that wishes to participate in politics democratically, but many autocratic governments in the Middle East and North Africa consider it a major threat. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have all banned the Muslim Brotherhood. Jordan banned the organisation in April, allegedly after pressure from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Israel. Jordan said they had arrested 16 members of the Muslim Brotherhood who had purportedly plotted attacks on targets inside the kingdom involving rockets and drones in April. In his first term, Trump toyed with the idea of banning the Brotherhood in the US, and could come under pressure to do so during his second term. The Trump administration considered designating the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation following Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's visit to the White House in 2019. The Muslim Brotherhood remains Sisi's main source of opposition in Egypt, and the Egyptian president reportedly asked Washington to crack down on the group. However, the Defence Department, career national security staff, government lawyers, and diplomatic officials raised legal and policy objections. Sisi led the Egyptian army's overthrow of Morsi in 2013. Egypt has jailed thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members, sentencing many to death. International rights groups have estimated that tens of thousands of political prisoners have been detained in Egyptian jails since 2014. Earlier this year, Jordan told Trump they would ban the Muslim Brotherhood. King Abdullah's move firmly places Jordan in the western camp's push against political Islam. The US is not the only western power looking to ban the Muslim Brotherhood. A new report by France's interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, revives the spectre of the Muslim Brotherhood as an underground Islamist threat poised to capture local and national institutions.
