Editing Muslim Brotherhood (section)

====United States====
According to a 2004 article by ''[[The Washington Post]]'', U.S. Muslim Brotherhood supporters "make up the U.S. Islamic community's most organized force" by running hundreds of mosques and business ventures, promoting civic activities, and setting up American Islamic organizations to defend and promote Islam.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12823-2004Sep10.html|title=In Search of Friends Among the Foes|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=10 September 2004|access-date=5 September 2017|archive-date=28 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628210742/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12823-2004Sep10.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1963, the U.S. chapter of Muslim Brotherhood was started by activists involved with the [[Muslim Students Association]] (MSA).<ref name="WashingtonPost-Diverse" /> U.S. supporters of the Brotherhood also started other organizations including: [[North American Islamic Trust]] in 1971, the [[Islamic Society of North America]] in 1981, the [[American Muslim Council]] in 1990, the [[Muslim American Society]] in 1992 and the [[International Institute of Islamic Thought]] in the 1980s.<ref name="WashingtonPost-Diverse" /> In addition, according to ''An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America'', the "Understanding of the Role of the Muslim Brotherhood in North America", and a relatively benign goal of the Muslim Brotherhood in North America is identified as the following:

<blockquote>Establishing an effective and a stable Islamic movement led by the Muslim Brotherhood which adopts Muslims' causes domestically and globally, and which works to expand the observant Muslim base, aims at unifying and directing Muslims' efforts, presents Islam as a civilization alternative, and supports the global Islamic state wherever it is.<ref name="q:Muslim Brotherhood">[[q:Muslim Brotherhood]]{{Circular reference|date=March 2023}}</ref><ref name=txnd>{{cite web |url=http://www.txnd.uscourts.gov/judges/hlf2/09-25-08/Elbarasse%20Search%203.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Government Exhibit Elbarasse Search – 3, 3:04-CR-240-G, ''U.S. v. HLF, et al.''|language=ar|website=www.txnd.uscourts.gov |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150604010607/http://www.txnd.uscourts.gov/judges/hlf2/09-25-08/Elbarasse%20Search%203.pdf |archive-date=4 June 2015}}</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The process of settlement is a 'Civilization-Jihadist Process' with all the word means. The Ikhwan [Muslim Brotherhood] must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and 'sabotaging' its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God's religion [Islam] is made victorious over all other religions.<ref name="q:Muslim Brotherhood"/><ref name=txnd/></blockquote>

During the [[Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development#Terrorism charges|Holy Land Foundation trial]] in 2007, several documents pertaining to the Brotherhood were unsuccessful in convincing the courts that the Brotherhood was involved in subversive activities. In one, dated 1984 called "Ikhwan in America" (Brotherhood in America), the author alleges that the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood in the US include going to camps to do weapons training (referred to as ''special work'' by the Muslim Brotherhood),<ref name=NEFAFoundation>{{cite web|first=Zeid|last=al-Noman|url=http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/HLF/IkhwanAmerica.pdf|title=Ikhwan in America|pages=13, 16|access-date=28 September 2007|archive-date=6 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006065600/http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/HLF/IkhwanAmerica.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> as well as engaging in [[counter-espionage]] against U.S. government agencies such as the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] and [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] (referred to as ''Securing the Group'').<ref name=NEFAFoundation/> Another (dated 1991) outlined a strategy for the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States that involved "eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within".<ref name=nyt2011-07-31>{{cite news|last=Elliott|first=Andrea|author-link=Andrea Elliott|title=The Man Behind the Anti-Shariah Movement|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/31/us/31shariah.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=9 August 2011|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=30 July 2011|archive-date=5 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805124205/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/31/us/31shariah.html?pagewanted=all|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Muslim Brotherhood in the United States|url=http://www.currenttrends.org/docLib/20090411_Merley.USBROTHERHOOD.pdf|access-date=28 August 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011182523/http://www.currenttrends.org/docLib/20090411_Merley.USBROTHERHOOD.pdf|archive-date=11 October 2011}}</ref><ref name=txnd />

<blockquote>Penned in May 1991 by a man named Mohamed Akram Adlouni, the 'Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America' was discovered during an FBI raid of a Virginia home in 2004. The document was admitted as an exhibit to the court during the 2007 Holy Land Foundation trial, in which that group was charged with laundering money. After the trial, the document became public. But, according to a 2009 opinion by the presiding judge, the memo was not considered 'supporting evidence' for that alleged money laundering scheme, nor any other conspiracy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bridge.georgetown.edu/civilization-jihad-debunking-the-conspiracy-theory/|title=Civilization Jihad: Debunking the Conspiracy Theory|website=Bridge Initiative Team|access-date=12 March 2017|date=26 February 2016|archive-date=14 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314152631/http://bridge.georgetown.edu/civilization-jihad-debunking-the-conspiracy-theory/|url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote>

The documents continue to be widely publicized in American conservative circles.<ref name=nyt2011-07-31/>

U.S. Congress attempts to pass legislation criminalizing the group, put forward by the 114th Congress, were defeated. The Bill, called the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2015, was introduced to the [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Senate Committee on Foreign Relations]] by Senator [[Ted Cruz]] (R-TX). In it the bill states that the [[United States Department of State|Department of State]] should designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. If passed, the bill would have required the State Department to report to Congress within 60 days whether or not the group fits the criteria, and if it did not, to state which specific criteria it had not met.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/2230|title=S.2230 – Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2015|website=Congress.gov|date=3 November 2015|publisher=U.S. Library of Congress|access-date=9 December 2016|archive-date=20 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220081735/https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/2230|url-status=live}}</ref>

This bill came after a handful of foreign countries made similar moves in recent years including Egypt, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and others, and after, according to Cruz, recent evidence emerged suggesting that the group supports terrorism. The senator further alleged that the group's stated goal is to wage violent jihad against its enemies, which includes the United States, and the fact that the Obama administration has listed numerous group members on its terror list. Cruz further stated that the bill would "reject the fantasy that [the] parent institution [of the Muslim Brotherhood] is a political entity that is somehow separate from these violent activities".<ref name="Hattem">{{Cite news|url=https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/259099-cruz-bill-would-designate-muslim-brotherhood-as-terrorist-group/|title=Cruz bill would designate Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist group|last=Hattem|first=Julian|date=4 November 2015|newspaper=The Hill|access-date=9 December 2016|archive-date=17 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617193201/https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/259099-cruz-bill-would-designate-muslim-brotherhood-as-terrorist-group|url-status=live}}</ref>

The bill identifies three Muslim Brotherhood entities in the U.S. including the [[Council on American–Islamic Relations|Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR)]], a non-profit group denounced by the UAE for its MB ties. The other two entities are [[Islamic Society of North America|the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)]] and the [[North American Islamic Trust|North American Islamic Trust (NAIT)]].<ref name="counterjihadreport.com">{{cite web|url=https://counterjihadreport.com/tag/muslim-brotherhood-terrorist-designation-act/|title=Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act {{!}} The Counter Jihad Report|website=counterjihadreport.com|access-date=9 December 2016|archive-date=17 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417181403/https://counterjihadreport.com/tag/muslim-brotherhood-terrorist-designation-act/|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

Conservatives in the Congress believe that the group is a breeding ground for radical Islam. Previous attempts were made in the previous year by Representative [[Michele Bachmann]] (R-MN), but it failed largely due to her allegation that [[Huma Abedin]], [[Hillary Clinton]]'s aide, had links to the organization, a statement which was dismissed by establishment Democrats and Republicans.<ref name="Hattem"/>

In February 2016, the [[United States House Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary Committee]] approved the legislation in a 17 to 10 vote, which if enacted could increase grounds for enforcing criminal penalties and give permission to the [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|Secretary of Treasury]] to block financial transactions and freeze assets of anyone who has showed material support for the group. Scholars against this classification claim that the group simply promotes Islamism, or the belief that society should be governed according to Islamic values and Sharia law.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-03-18/should-the-us-designate-the-muslim-brotherhood-as-a-terrorist-group|title=Should the U.S. Designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a Terrorist Group?|last=Lederman|first=Alexander|date=8 March 2016|work=U.S. News & World Report|access-date=9 December 2016|archive-date=20 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220094212/http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-03-18/should-the-us-designate-the-muslim-brotherhood-as-a-terrorist-group|url-status=live}}</ref>

Past U.S. presidential administrations have examined whether to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and have decided not to do so.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theconversation.com/is-the-muslim-brotherhood-a-terrorist-organization-73576|title=Is the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization?|website=The Conversation|date=10 March 2017|access-date=17 July 2017|archive-date=24 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824155041/http://theconversation.com/is-the-muslim-brotherhood-a-terrorist-organization-73576|url-status=live}}</ref> During the [[George W. Bush]] administration, the U.S. government investigated the Brotherhood and associated Islamist groups, but "after years of investigations, ... the U.S. and other governments, including Switzerland's, closed investigations of the Brotherhood leaders and financial group for lack of evidence, and removed most of the leaders from sanctions lists."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-muslimbrotherhood-idUSKBN15D0VV|title=Trump administration debates designating Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist group|work=Reuters|date=29 January 2017|access-date=5 September 2017|archive-date=5 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905095202/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-muslimbrotherhood-idUSKBN15D0VV|url-status=live}}</ref> The Obama administration was also pressured to designate the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, but did not do so.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/petition-calls-for-white-house-to-declare-muslim-brotherhood-terrorist-group/|title=Petition calls for White House to declare Muslim Brotherhood terrorist group|first=Perry|last=Chiaramonte|publisher=[[Fox News Channel]]|date=4 August 2013|access-date=7 May 2017|archive-date=5 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705015218/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08/04/petition-calls-for-white-house-to-declare-muslim-brotherhood-terrorists.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nyt-Baker">{{cite news |last=Baker |first=Peter |date=7 February 2017 |title=White House Weighs Terrorist Designation for Muslim Brotherhood |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/07/world/middleeast/muslim-brotherhood-terrorism-trump.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=23 February 2017 |archive-date=5 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905234026/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/07/world/middleeast/muslim-brotherhood-terrorism-trump.html |url-status=live }}</ref> During the [[Donald Trump]] administration, there were serious steps towards designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-muslimbrotherhood/trump-weighs-labeling-muslim-brotherhood-a-terrorist-group-idUSKCN1S6159|title=Trump weighs labeling Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group|work=Reuters|date=30 April 2019|access-date=14 January 2020|archive-date=5 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905191153/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-muslimbrotherhood/trump-weighs-labeling-muslim-brotherhood-a-terrorist-group-idUSKCN1S6159|url-status=live}}</ref>