The recent decision by US President Donald Trump to designate Muslim Brotherhood chapters as terrorist groups is overdue and deserves strong support from anyone who values democracy, freedom, and human rights. Other democracies should follow suit, though designation alone will not defeat one of the West’s most serious long-term threats.
How the Brotherhood Operates
Founded in Egypt in 1928, the Brotherhood is not a benign religious society but the ideological parent of nearly every major Sunni terror group, from al-Qaeda to Hamas to ISIS. Its motto is unambiguous: “The Qur’an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.”
Its goal is simple: replace secular democracy with Islamist theocracy wherever possible. It is disciplined and patient, exploiting the openness of democratic systems to gain footholds it later uses to undermine them. It embeds itself in charities, schools, universities, NGOs, and political networks. Publicly it cloaks itself in the rhetoric of rights and representation; privately it rejects pluralism, equality, and the rule of law.
By posing as the voice of Muslim communities, the Brotherhood lobbies to weaken counter-terrorism policies by branding them “Islamophobic.” It encourages separatism and grievance, eroding social cohesion and trust. And through its global infrastructure — spanning the Middle East, Europe, North America, and beyond — it synchronizes campaigns, raises funds, and amplifies its influence across borders.
This is no theoretical danger. France’s intelligence service has warned that the Brotherhood poses a serious threat to national cohesion. A UK government review found it speaks moderately in public while preaching radicalism in private. In the U.S., the Holy Land Foundation trial revealed a Brotherhood-linked web of nonprofits that funneled money to Hamas and promoted Islamist ideology under the radar.
The Brotherhood’s reach is geopolitical as well. Two states, Qatar and Turkey, serve as its lifelines. Qatar bankrolls Brotherhood branches worldwide, from Hamas in Gaza to Islamist movements in Tunisia, Libya, and Yemen, among others. Its network Al Jazeera amplifies Brotherhood narratives and functions as a global propaganda arm. Turkey, under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has become the Brotherhood’s political and operational hub, hosting exiled leaders and Hamas operatives and providing platforms for Islamist groups and media.
Western Complicity
Yet the Brotherhood’s greatest enabler is not money or networks, but the moral failure of Western leaders and institutions. Too many politicians, journalists, and academics prefer denial, silence, or appeasement to confronting evil head-on. Universities have increasingly given space to Islamist sympathizers, while parts of the media are influenced either by Qatari funding or ideological frameworks that cast the West as the villain of history.
The Brotherhood is gaining ground not because it is strong, but because we are weak. That weakness is a choice, and it is reversible.
If the West chooses to fight, we will prevail. But it requires a united, coordinated, global strategy on three fronts: starving the Brotherhood’s networks, confronting its state sponsors, and rekindling democratic confidence at home.
Starve the Networks
The Brotherhood and all affiliates must be formally designated terrorist organizations, banned from operating in Western democracies, stripped of nonprofit status, and defunded.
Financial and legal loopholes that allow it to masquerade as charities or civil rights groups must be closed. Intelligence services must intensify surveillance, infiltration, and disruption, while police and security forces are trained to identify and dismantle Islamist networks.
Western leaders must confront Islamist ideology publicly, dismantling its “moderate” façade and making its anti-democratic core visible. And digital platforms must be held accountable: Islamist propaganda banned and credible voices — from ex-Islamists to human rights advocates — amplified to counter Brotherhood narratives.
Confront the States
Qatar should be formally classified as a state sponsor of Islamist terrorism. Its state-owned companies and individuals funding Brotherhood branches must face sanctions. Western states must bar investments tied to Muslim Brotherhood fronts, ban Al Jazeera as the propaganda outlet it is, and partner with Egypt, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia to force Qatar to expel Brotherhood and Hamas leaders.
Turkey under Erdoğan must be recognized for what it is: a key state enabler of the Brotherhood network. NATO and economic cooperation should be conditioned on measurable steps to roll back Brotherhood and Hamas presence inside Turkey. Sanctions should target government-linked entities enabling the Brotherhood, and Western governments should make Erdoğan’s affiliations public knowledge.
Both states’ funding of Western universities, NGOs, and lobbying efforts must be fully exposed and shut down across the West.
Rekindle Democratic Confidence
Defeating Islamism will take more than reactionary measures; it requires proactive civic renewal. Mandatory civic education must teach the principles of liberal democracy, individual freedoms, and the hard-won struggles to defend them. Students should also study the tactics and dangers of totalitarian ideologies — Islamism, fascism, communism — and understand the oppression and decay they bring.
Public campaigns through documentaries, films, television, and social media should expose the horrors of Islamist rule while celebrating the freedoms that make the West worth defending. Finally, we must build the right alliances with non-Islamist Muslims, with Jewish communities, and with Israel, all of whom have deep experience countering Islamism.
The Muslim Brotherhood is not just another extremist group. It is a disciplined, transnational movement with state sponsors and a century-long strategy to replace democracy with theocracy. That makes it one of the most dangerous long-term ideological adversaries the free world faces today.
Countering the Brotherhood will demand policy clarity, allied coordination, and the moral confidence to defend democracy. The time to act is now; any hesitation will only make victory harder.
Gabriel Rosenberg
Gabriel Rosenberg is the former Director of the Jewish Diplomatic Corps of the World Jewish Congress, a global network of 400 Jewish leaders across 60 countries engaged in diplomacy, advocacy, and international policy.
