WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Ashley Moody joined Senator
Ted Cruz to introduce the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act. This
bill implements a new modernized strategy for designating the Muslim
Brotherhood as a terrorist group.
Senator Ashley Moody said, “The Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist
Designation Act is commonsense legislation that will declare the Muslim
Brotherhood, a group known to seek widespread hate against Christians, Jews and
other religious groups, a foreign terrorist organization. This group actively
provides support for groups like Hamas, the cowards responsible for the October
7th massacre of innocent Israelis—and they continue to spread their violence
across the globe. Today we can join our allies across Europe and the Middle
East in this designation, and I urge its swift passage.”
Senator Ted Cruz said, “The Muslim Brotherhood is a
terrorist organization, and it provides support to Muslim Brotherhood branches
that are terrorist organizations. One of those branches is Hamas, which on
October 7 committed the worst single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,
which included the murder and kidnapping of at least 53 Americans. They are
committed to the overthrow and destruction of America and other non-Islamist
governments across the world, and pose an acute threat to American national
security interests. American allies in the Middle East and Europe have already
labeled the Brotherhood a terrorist organization, and the United States should
do the same, and do so expeditiously.”
Joining Senators Moody and Cruz were
Senators Tom Cotton, John Boozman, Rick Scott and Dave McCormick.
Senator Tom Cotton said, “The Muslim Brotherhood preaches
death to Israel, the United States, and other western governments. These are
the statements of a terrorist group, and they should be labeled as such.”
Senator John Boozman said, “The Muslim Brotherhood’s
terrorist actions are well documented and deeply troubling. Historic support
and financial backing to groups such as Hamas, the terrorist organization
responsible for the October 7 attacks, are indicative of the Muslim Brotherhood’s
extremist ideologies that warrant American action to protect lives, strengthen
our national security and ultimately reinforce our commitment to stability in
the region.”
Senator Rick Scott said, “The Muslim Brotherhood is a
radical Islamist network with deep ties to extremist organizations like Hamas
and the states that support them, like Qatar and Turkey, which on October 7th,
massacred innocent Israelis and brutally attacked Americans. We know that these
terror groups share an evil goal to destroy democracy, threaten our allies, and
undermine America’s national security. That’s why I’m joining this urgent
effort to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization,
ultimately blocking access to U.S. soil and our dollars. We owe it to our
citizens, our service members, and our allies to confront this evil head-on.”
Companion legislation was introduced in
the House by Representative Mario Díaz-Balart.
Representative Díaz-Balart said, “Today, I once again introduced
legislation to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist
organization. The global Muslim Brotherhood has numerous regional branches,
including terrorist organizations such as Hamas, and spreads violence and
instability throughout the Middle East. For this reason, it is crucial to U.S.
national security interests that we prohibit U.S. dollars from enabling the
Muslim Brotherhood’s dangerous activities, and that we ensure Muslim Brotherhood
members are blocked from entering the United States. This important legislation
gives the Trump Administration the additional authority it needs to protect
Americans, and our closest allies, from this insidious threat.”
This bill is supported by FDD Action,
Christians United for Israel Action Fund, the American Israel Public Affairs
Committee (AIPAC), and the Republican Jewish Coalition.
Read the full text of the bill here.
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