August 2025

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Washington is moving to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation, with a review underway covering all of its branches worldwide.

In an interview with Sid and Friends in the Morning, Rubio said the process is complex and lengthy but already in motion, with efforts to collect evidence to withstand any potential legal challenges. He noted the Brotherhood remains a serious concern for the US, and the review is part of a wider reassessment of groups suspected of supporting or engaging in terrorism.

The challenge, he said, lies in the group’s numerous and varied branches, requiring case-by-case determinations before a final decision.

In Sudan, political parties and civil groups have urged Washington to include the Sudanese Islamic Movement—seen as an ideological ally of the Brotherhood—on the terrorism list, citing its role in igniting the current war and its decades-long record of abuses while in power.

Rubio’s remarks follow a bill introduced last month by Republican Senator Ted Cruz titled the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2025. The proposal calls for a targeted approach that focuses on specific affiliates rather than the Brotherhood’s loosely defined global structure.

According to the Washington Free Beacon, the bill would give the State Department expanded authority to designate Brotherhood-linked entities as terrorist organisations, requiring a comprehensive list within 90 days of enactment. It sets out three legal pathways: a congressional measure under the 1987 Anti-Terrorism Act, a formal State Department designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and placement on the global terrorism list.

If adopted, US citizens would be prohibited from providing funds or services to the Brotherhood, and its assets in the United States would be frozen—potentially reshaping Washington’s relations with political Islamist groups across the Middle East and beyond