The time has come—urgently and decisively—for the United States and Israel to formally outlaw the Muslim Brotherhood and designate it as the terrorist organization it has always been.

Founded nearly a century ago in Egypt, the Brotherhood was never merely a religious revivalist group. It was, from its inception, a political insurgency movement dedicated to the establishment of a global Islamist caliphate. 

Its motto is chillingly clear: “Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. Jihad is our way. Death for the sake of Allah is our highest aspiration.”

This is not a movement of moderation or reform. It is the ideological fountainhead that spawned Hamas, Al-Qaeda, and nurtured the worldview that led to the rise of ISIS. While the Brotherhood has often donned the mask of political pragmatism, it is precisely this deception that makes it even more dangerous. It has infiltrated democratic institutions, manipulated civil society, and established powerful influence networks in the West—all while working tirelessly to undermine democratic values from within.

One of the most alarming examples of the Brotherhood's influence is the regime of Turkish President Erdoğan. Under Erdoğan’s rule, Turkey has become the leading patron and safe haven of the Muslim Brotherhood, offering refuge to its leaders, financing its media arms, and promoting its radical ideology throughout the region. 

Ankara has weaponized the Brotherhood as a tool of foreign policy, destabilizing countries like Egypt, Libya, and Sudan, while aggressively backing Hamas and other Brotherhood offshoots in their war against Israel. Turkey’s transformation into a Brotherhood-supporting state underlines the global danger of allowing this movement to thrive unchecked.

In Israel, the connection is direct and deadly. Hamas, which openly declares its allegiance to the Muslim Brotherhood, has waged a genocidal war against the Jewish state for decades. The Brotherhood’s global networks, including in Europe and the U.S., provide ideological, logistical, and sometimes financial support to Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other groups committed to Israel’s destruction.

The United States cannot continue to treat the Brotherhood as a political curiosity or a fringe movement. Its influence on American soil is growing. Brotherhood-affiliated front groups exploit Western tolerance to spread their narrative, radicalize communities, and hinder counterterrorism efforts. 

This is not freedom of speech—it is the abuse of freedom to destroy freedom itself.

Several Arab nations, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, have already banned the Brotherhood and classified it as a terrorist organization. They understand what the West refuses to see: that this movement is the ideological mother of modern jihadist terrorism. If countries in the Muslim world can take this stand, why do Israel and the United States continue to hesitate?

Israel must lead the way by designating the Brotherhood and all its affiliates as terrorist organizations, criminalizing their activities and cutting off their networks of influence, funding, and recruitment. The United States must follow, sending a clear message that the days of legitimizing terror apologists under the guise of political Islam are over.

This is not only a matter of national security—it is a matter of moral clarity. Every day the Brotherhood is allowed to operate freely is another day its poisonous ideology spreads among the disillusioned, the young, and the radicalized.

The war on terror must return to its roots. And those roots begin with the Muslim Brotherhood.

The time to act is now.