According to reports, President Donald Trump met with staunchly anti-Islamist Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi earlier this month and is now working to formally deem the Muslim Brotherhood — the international Islamist group that serves as the mother’s milk for much of the Sunni extremism that plagues the Arab world — a terrorist organization. The move would bring the United States in line with many anti-Islamist Arab allies, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain — each of which also formally designates the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.
Per The New York Times:
The White House directed national security and diplomatic officials to find a way to place sanctions on the group after a White House visit on April 9 by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, for whom the Brotherhood represents a source of political opposition. In a private meeting without reporters and photographers, Mr. el-Sisi urged Mr. Trump to take that step and join Egypt in branding the movement a terrorist organization.
Such a designation imposes wide-ranging economic and travel sanctions on companies and individuals who interact with the targeted group. The president responded affirmatively to Mr. el-Sisi, saying it would make sense. Some of Mr. Trump’s advisers have interpreted that as a commitment, officials said.
Importantly, though, The Wall Street Journal reports that it is not “immediately known whether the Trump administration’s designation would apply only to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, or to the set of Islamist movements across the world that are informally referred to as the Muslim Brotherhood.” – read more