With all that the US has been through with terrorism, from 9/11 to beheadings to San Bernardino, it is more than surprising that the Muslim Brotherhood has yet to be declared a terrorist organization. But that may soon change after the House Judiciary Committee approved a bill on Wednesday that calls on the US Department of State to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization, citing national security as the reason the designation is needed. The Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2015 passed on a vote of 17-10. The bill must be debated and voted on by the full House before it moves forward. If both chambers pass the bill, it will be presented to President Barack Obama who will have 10 days to sign or veto the legislation. If approved, anyone with connections to the Brotherhood will be denied entry to the US. Furthermore, individuals who provide material support to the organization will be tried under federal criminal penalties. Lastly, the US Treasury Department has authority to demand US financial institutions that possess or control any assets belonging to the MB to block any financial transactions involving those assets. Opposing the legislation, Democratic Congressman John Conyers said the measure was a result of an ongoing Islamophobia campaign in the US and that the bill appeals to base fears. There is no doubt that the tone of the US presidential campaign has played a role in making US politicians take the first step to outlaw the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. Donald Trump's electoral success in the Republican presidential campaign following his December call to ban all Muslims from entering the country has revealed many voters' concerns about potential terrorists. A similar anti-Brotherhood bill from now-retired hard-right Rep. Michele Bachmann went nowhere two years ago, but the committee vote suggests it is now a mainstream Republican position. However, there is a huge difference between an imagined and unsubstantiated fear of Muslims and the real threat posed by a few violent Muslims. Not all Muslims are the same. Are all Muslims responsible for last year's brutal murders in Paris and Tunisia or the butchery by members of Boko Haram? Of course not. But all radical and extremist Islamist terrorist groups find their origin in the Muslim Brotherhood. Daesh (the self-proclaimed IS), Al-Qaeda, Taliban, Boko Haram and Al-Shabab are all the product of the Muslim Brotherhood which was founded in Egypt in 1928 by Hassan Al-Banna. Because Al-Banna sought to expand the Brotherhood's reach as far as possible, the movement accommodated and at times encouraged militant and extremist reactionary elements. In fact, he went so far as to express his readiness to declare war against "every leader, every party and every organization" that did not implement the Brotherhood's programs. For good reason have Saudi Arabia and Egypt designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. No country is immune to Islamist extremist terrorism, which has at its core the exclusionary, radical and violent ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization that also provides moral, material and financial support to these groups. The Muslim Brotherhood has intricate links with other terrorist organizations that have not only wreaked havoc in the Middle East but have also extended their reach to the US and Europe, claiming thousands of innocent lives. Although the Brotherhood purports to present a moderate view of Islam, this could not be further from the truth. The Brotherhood has never embraced democratic principles other than as a vehicle to reach power through their manipulative religious rhetoric. The Muslim Brotherhood's embrace of terrorism and the very real threat it poses to the national security of the US make it long overdue for designation.
