On Wednesday, despite the opposition of the Obama White House, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee backed U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart’s, R-Fla., “Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act.”
While members of the Muslim Brotherhood are classified as terrorists by the State Department, the organization as a whole is not. Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., teamed up with U.S Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to introduce their proposal back in November.
The bill ensures no “aliens tied to the Muslim Brotherhood" would be allowed to enter the U.S. while Americans who aided the group would face criminal charges. If the bill in enacted, the Treasury Department would be able to block Muslim Brotherhood money tied up in American companies.
When he launched the bill, Cruz noted some of the groups and individuals under the Muslim Brotherhood’s umbrella launched terrorist attacks on Americans.
“This bill recognizes the simple fact that the Muslim Brotherhood is a radical Islamic terrorist group,” Cruz said when the bill was brought out in November. “For years, American presidents of both parties have correctly designated the Brotherhood’s various affiliates, such as Hamas and Ansar al-Sharia, as terrorist groups. They have designated individual Muslim Brotherhood leaders such as Shaykh Abd-al-Majd Al-Zindani, who was complicit in the 2000 attack on the USS Cole, and Sami Al-Hajj, who was captured on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in 2001 running money and weapons for al Qaida, as terrorists. Now we can reject the fantasy that their parent institution is a political entity that is somehow separate from these violent activities.
“A number of our Muslim allies have taken this common-sense step, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE,” Cruz added. “As this bill details, the Brotherhood’s stated goal is to wage violent jihad against its enemies, and our legislation is a reality check that the United States is on that list as well.”
The Muslim Brotherhood claims it is a group fighting for democracy but it is classified by several governments, including Russia as well as the nations Cruz listed, as a terrorist group. The United Kingdom broke with the U.S. back in December to recognize the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorists.
U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, praised the bill after it passed his committee.
“The Muslim Brotherhood’s embrace of terrorism and the very real threat it poses to American lives and the national security of the United States make it long overdue for designation,” Goodlatte said. “The bill passed by the House Judiciary Committee today calls the State Department to do the right thing and designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization. This will make it less likely that members of the Muslim Brotherhood will be able to enter the United States. I thank Congressman Diaz-Balart for introducing this bill and urge the House of Representatives to consider it immediately.”
“The Muslim Brotherhood continues to pose a global threat,” Diaz-Balart said on Wednesday. “The jihadist movement actively supports and finances terrorist networks around the world, including al-Qaeda and Hamas. The United States must recognize and sanction the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization as part of our national security strategy. I thank Chairman Goodlatte for his leadership and assistance in getting this bill through committee, and I look forward to working with him when it is brought to the floor.”
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
