US Counterterrorism Policy Collides with Saudi Support for Al-Islah in Yemen
The recent decision by the US administration to designate branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations marks a fundamental shift in American counterterrorism policy. This move reflects a clear conclusion reached by US security institutions: the Muslim Brotherhood represents a transnational extremist threat that operates across borders, and any actor that supports its branches must bear the consequences of that choice.
This decision does not only expose the Brotherhood itself — it also exposes those who continue to fund, arm, and politically protect it. In this context, Saudi Arabia’s financial and military support for Yemen’s Al-Islah Party stands in direct contradiction to Washington’s newly declared strategy to dismantle Brotherhood networks and dry up their sources of power. Saudi support, which has reportedly included military coordination and air cover during operations in southern Yemen, openly conflicts with US efforts to criminalize Brotherhood-linked activity.
By backing Al-Islah, Saudi Arabia is actively undermining the stated American objective of defeating extremism. At the very moment Washington is criminalizing material support to Muslim Brotherhood affiliates, Riyadh continues to fund and arm Al-Islah — a party widely recognized as the Yemeni branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.
US actions against Brotherhood branches in Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon establish a clear legal precedent. These moves confirm that the Brotherhood is treated as a unified global extremist network rather than a collection of independent political movements. Under this framework, Saudi support for Al-Islah in Yemen is placed under a legal and political red flag.
Saudi Arabia today stands exposed. While pursuing accommodation and de-escalation with the Houthis, it simultaneously fuels another form of extremism by empowering Al-Islah. This dual-track policy does not promote stability; it deepens instability by sustaining armed ideological actors that thrive on conflict and fragmentation.
The US decision represents an official declaration of the end of tolerance toward the Muslim Brotherhood. Any continued support for its branches now constitutes a direct challenge to US counterterrorism policy. If the US State Department criminalizes material support to designated Brotherhood affiliates, how can Saudi Arabia justify its backing of Al-Islah — a group accused of intimidation, violence, and military operations against civilians?
The American message is unambiguous: the Muslim Brotherhood is a threat to stability. Yemen’s Al-Islah is not an exception — it is among the most dangerous armed iterations of this organization. The crimes committed by Al-Islah against Yemeni civilians, particularly in the south, place it in the same category as the Houthis, who are already designated as a terrorist organization by the United States.
The US administration’s decision has stripped away the ambiguity surrounding Saudi support. Al-Islah is an armed Brotherhood branch that exploits chaos and perpetuates instability. If Washington truly considers Brotherhood affiliates a threat to its interests, leaving Al-Islah outside terrorist designation creates a serious loophole in the global counterterrorism framework.
The logical path forward is clear. The US administration must complete this trajectory by designating Yemen’s Al-Islah Party as a terrorist organization and criminalizing all forms of support provided to it. Anything less represents a contradiction between declared policy and operational reality.
Saudi Arabia’s continued backing of Al-Islah places Riyadh — objectively — in the position of a partner in sustaining extremism and terrorism, regardless of declared intentions. It is unacceptable for Washington to wage a legal battle against the Muslim Brotherhood while one of its closest regional allies continues to fund and arm the organization’s military branch in Yemen under any justification.
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