US Designates Ikhwanul Muslimin as a Terrorist Organisation

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The United States government officially designates the Ikhwanul Muslimin organisation in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan as a ‘terrorist’ organisation. The move marks a major escalation in Washington’s efforts to pressure rivals of Israel on the world stage. The decision, announced earlier this year on Tuesday 13 January 2026 local time, follows an executive order by President Donald Trump directing his administration to compile a blacklist of the group. Specifically, the US Treasury Department labelled the Ikhwanul Muslimin branches in Jordan and Egypt as ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorists’. Meanwhile, the US Department of State accorded the Lebanon branch a heavier designation, ‘Foreign Terrorist Organisation’ (FTO). The Trump administration argued that the organisations provide support to Hamas and carry out activities detrimental to Israel’s interests in the Middle East. ‘The Ikhwanul Muslimin branches pose as civil, legitimate organisations, but behind the scenes they explicitly and enthusiastically support terrorist groups such as Hamas,’ said a statement from the US Treasury Department cited by Al Jazeera. With the new status, anyone providing material support to these groups in the US will be considered to be breaking the law. The US has also imposed stringent sanctions to cut off their revenue streams. Specifically for the FTO designation in Lebanon, members of the organisation are strictly forbidden from entering the United States. In response to the move, Salah Abdel Haq, a leading official of the Egyptian Ikhwanul Muslimin, rejected the designation. He said he would pursue legal channels to challenge the decision, which he claimed would harm millions of Muslims worldwide. ‘This designation is not backed by credible evidence and reflects external pressure from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel, rather than an objective assessment of US interests,’ he told Al Jazeera. For background, the Ikhwanul Muslimin was founded in 1928 by Hassan Al Banna in Egypt and has many political and social wings across the Middle East. In Jordan, its political wing had just won 31 parliamentary seats in the 2024 elections. The Jordanian government itself banned the organisation last year over allegations of sabotage. Egypt, which has banned the Ikhwanul Muslimin since the 2013 military coup, welcomed the US move. Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was an important step in tackling extremist ideology: ‘This is a crucial step in confronting the extremist ideology that threatens regional stability.’ By contrast, the Al Jamaa Al Islamiya group in Lebanon asserted that they are an official political movement operating under Lebanon’s legal framework: ‘The US move is purely political to serve the interests of the occupation authorities conducting aggression in Gaza and Lebanon.’ Meanwhile, the Trump policy has also had domestic effects in the US. Republican governors in Texas and Florida quickly moved to designate the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim civil rights organisation in the US, as a terrorist group for alleged ties to the Ikhwanul Muslimin. ‘We strongly deny the charges and have filed legal action against the governments of Florida and Texas for defamation and discrimination,’ CAIR said.