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After HASM, Will the U.S. Designate the Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Organization?

A few days before the official transfer of power, in the United States, from the Republican President Trump to the Democrat President Biden, political chaos is raging, in an unprecedented way, across the capital city of Washington, D.C. as a result of sharp political fractions between the far-right supporters of Trump and the far-left supporters of Biden. However, this did not prevent the Trump Administration from announcing some important decisions related to the Middle East, in an attempt to fulfill some of Trump’s promises to pursue terrorist organizations in the region.
In the first week of January, the U.S. State Department announced designating the Iran-backed Houthi group, in Yemen, as a terrorist organization. The step came as no surprise to the observers who considered this designation as part of the Trump administration’s war on Iran. But the real surprise happened, a few days after that, in mid-January, when the State Department announced the designation of the Egyptian HASM militia on the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). This designation renewed hope that the U.S. may consider designating the Muslim Brotherhood, the parent organization of HASM, as a foreign terrorist organization.
Previously, in 2018, the U.S. State Department designated HASM and Liwa’ al-Thawra, which is also a militia affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). HASM and Liwaa Al-Thawra are armed groups affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood and have been operating in Egypt, since the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood regime, in 2013. Their goal was to cause extreme chaos that forces the military to return the Muslim Brotherhood regime back in power.
HASM was formed by young members of the Muslim Brotherhood, who fled to Turkey later on, in early 2015, and from there, the leaders of HASM continued to command operations implemented by the Muslim Brotherhood young members who could not flee Egypt. HASM operations, in Egypt, targeted police and military personnel and their families. The most prominent operation by HASM was the assassination of Egypt’s Attorney General, Hisham Barakat, on his way to work, in June 2015.
In the same statement, the State Department mentioned that they reviewed the FTO designation of the Gaza-based Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and decided to maintain it. PIJ operates in Gaza and is generously supported by Qatar and Iran. However, PIJ originally belongs to Hamas, which in turn is one of the military arms of the Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas, also, is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Britain, and some other countries, since 1990s.
The U.S. designation of HASM as FTO is a new evidence that the Muslim Brotherhood is a violent group that qualifies to be designated as a terrorist organization. HASM, HAMAS, Liwa’ Al-Thawra, and PIJ are armed factions of the Muslim Brotherhood and all of them are designated as terrorist organizations. The motto of the group, since its foundation a century ago, honors violent jihad as their way to spread the word of God. Yet, unfortunately, the U.S. is still hand-tied by legal and political considerations on this particular issue.
From the legal point of view, there is a difficulty proving that the Brotherhood is acting as a unilateral organization, where all its members, including renowned politicians affiliated to the group in several countries, incite and practice violence. The cluster structure of the Muslim Brotherhood organization and its widely spread cells, worldwide, makes it difficult to prove its unilaterality in systemic use of violence.
Politically, the Muslim Brotherhood has become an expired card for those who previously supported them, including Turkey, Qatar, and Britain, because of the severe divisions among the leaders. Yet, the group still has got high-profile politicians acting in leading official positions in some Middle Eastern countries, such as Turkey, Jordan, Tunisia, and Morocco. Designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization means cutting diplomatic relations with those countries and thus jeopardizing U.S. political, economic, and security interests that are, directly or indirectly, linked to them.
In fact, one can hardly be optimistic that the new US administration of President Biden may take a step towards designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. However, we must continue our efforts to document the violent atrocities practiced by the Muslim Brotherhood and educate the public opinion, around the world, about the extremist ideology of the group, which feeds the extremist rhetoric of all the Islamist terrorist organizations, known to us today. Exposing the ugly face of the Muslim Brotherhood is necessary to limit the group from abusing the current global turbulence in economic, political and health sectors to regain their power or win popular approval.
by: Dalia Ziada
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BENEFIT Sponsors BuildHer...
- April 23, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”
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