Imminent US moves against the Muslim Brotherhood: Experts predict Washington's

 

 US President Donald Trump 

Imminent US moves against the Muslim Brotherhood: Experts predict Washington's

With the US Secretary of State speaking of “imminent announcements” concerning the Muslim Brotherhood, Washington appeared to be on the verge of a qualitative shift in its approach to the organization: a move from a policy of surveillance and containment to a more stringent approach that reclassifies the Brotherhood as a source of threat.

What is crystallizing behind the scenes, according to accumulating indicators, points to a different path that the United States may take, opening the door to broad legal and financial restrictions, possible sanctions, and even a tightening of the confrontation with political Islam, including restricting the movement of the organization’s leaders and preventing them from entering American territory.

This is how leaders in the American Republican and Democratic parties and experts anticipated the features of the expected decisions, which the Secretary of State hinted at in statements broadcast on Friday evening, placing the Brotherhood before an unprecedented test in their relationship with Washington.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that Washington would likely make some announcements regarding the Muslim Brotherhood next week.
The US Secretary of State confirmed that he expects "announcements next week regarding the executive order issued by President Donald Trump concerning the Muslim Brotherhood."
Last November, the US president signed an executive order requiring his administration to determine whether certain branches of the Muslim Brotherhood, such as those in Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan, should be designated as foreign terrorist organizations and special designation global terrorist organizations.

So what do we know about the anticipated decisions?

Gabriel Souma, a former member of President Trump’s advisory council,that the decisions related to Trump’s executive order on the Muslim Brotherhood will open the door to moves to impose broad legal and financial sanctions, with a move to intensify the confrontation with political Islam.

One aspect of this tightening is placing terrorism charges on the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood, and possibly preventing its members from entering America, according to Souma.
The professor of international law said that the decisions - which will be linked to classifying the Brotherhood as terrorist organizations - will impose sanctions related to freezing financial assets,
 preventing economic transactions, as well as imposing travel bans on associated individuals and entities.
He added that the decisions “will lead to legal restrictions on any activities or associations linked to the Brotherhood, placing them under strict surveillance, and possibly restricting their ability to travel.”

repercussions

The former member of President Trump’s advisory council warned that the anticipated decisions will clarify the danger the Muslim Brotherhood poses to US national security and Washington’s allies in the Middle East.

Regarding the repercussions of Washington's decisions on the European level, the professor of international law said that the new decisions will reopen the European debate on political Islam and how to confront it.
In the Arab region, Souma said the decision could be used as a tool to pressure some governments to tighten their policies towards the Muslim Brotherhood.

In the same context, Noman Abu Issa, a member of the US Democratic Party,that the anticipated decisions will put the Muslim Brotherhood on the blacklist in America, Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan, and criminalize anyone who belongs to or supports the group.
Washington has decided to combat all forms of political Islam, and at its heart the Muslim Brotherhood, by all possible means, according to a member of the Democratic Party, who pointed out that “America sees that political Islam has become a threat to its interests in the Middle East, and within the United States.”

Abu Issa pointed out that the US State Department will publish its report next week on the decision signed by President Trump on November 24, which gave the State and Treasury Departments a month to consult with national security, intelligence and judicial officials on the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood in America and abroad.

Previous moves

For his part, Sameh Al-Hadi, an expert on American affairs and a member of the Democratic Party, that “the current US administration is completing previous attempts that began with the administration of former Republican President George W. Bush Jr. when he began his attempts to classify the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group.”

According to Al-Hadi, the general pattern in which the current US administration is moving is one that attempts to eliminate the ideas of political Islam, as the administration sees them as hindering the creation of an economic climate that necessitates calm and the return of opportunities through which economic and trade partnerships with the region can grow.

The Democratic Party member added that there are moves that embody the trend towards creating this climate, especially what was issued by the Governor of Texas, followed by the Governor of Florida, in classifying the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic humanitarian and social work organization CARE as terrorist organizations.

He stressed that the current administration will continue in this direction, “and we will see, after the deadline for the executive order has passed, a directive to both the Treasury and State Departments to provide mechanisms for the President and to present proposals to begin the implementation work related to this classification and the sanctions that follow.”

A blow to the Brotherhood

The Muslim Brotherhood had suffered a blow in the United States after it was banned in the state of Florida, which at the time reflected a shift in the American mood from a stage of monitoring and containment to a path of eradication.
The Florida governor’s decision came after a similar decision by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, indicating a coordinated move to deal with the Muslim Brotherhood in states with significant influence.
Observers believe that the success of states in implementing the ban could encourage other states to make similar decisions.