Linking the Muslim Brotherhood to ISIS and Al-Qaeda: a U.S. shift targeting the foundational root of terrorism
The United States is redrawing the map of terrorism by establishing a direct link between the Muslim Brotherhood and armed organizations such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda, which are described as emerging from its ideological matrix.
This is reflected in the 2026 U.S. counterterrorism strategy published on Wednesday by the White House.
The strategy directly connects the Muslim Brotherhood with organizations such as Al-Qaeda, Islamic State (ISIS), and Hamas, arguing that the group provided the “intellectual umbrella” that legitimized concepts of cross-border violence and the use of religion as a means to gain power or impose influence.
The strategy goes further by portraying the Muslim Brotherhood as the founding mind of transnational chaos and the original incubator from which Hamas, Al-Qaeda, and ISIS emerged, making the stated objective to strike the root rather than merely pursue the branches.
Depriving the Muslim Brotherhood of “safe” havens
Commenting on this, Egyptian journalist and expert on political Islam movements Hisham Al-Najar said that directly linking the Muslim Brotherhood to ISIS and Al-Qaeda represents “the most important step in confronting the group since the June 2013 revolution in Egypt, as it marks a major and pivotal shift in the confrontation.”
He said that “this shift is due to several factors, including the exposure of the true nature of the group, the revelation of its connections with ISIS and Al-Qaeda, and the uncovering of its parallel project within the United States itself.”
He added that this direct linkage would have significant consequences, particularly in “depriving the Muslim Brotherhood of safe havens in the United States, restricting its freedom of movement, and drying up its sources of income.”
He continued, “The United States will also work to push its allies to tighten restrictions on the group, limit the movements of its leaders and members, and track its funding sources.”
A turning point
Observers believe that directly linking the Muslim Brotherhood to ISIS and Al-Qaeda reveals important aspects of the group’s record and undermines a narrative it promoted in various circles, especially in Europe, claiming rejection of violence and adherence to legal frameworks.
Some countries, such as Germany and Austria, had for years classified the Muslim Brotherhood under the label of “legal Islamism,” which rejects violence but seeks to achieve its goals through associations and organizations operating within the law, even if that law is exploited for controversial purposes.
Over time, this classification, based on a narrative promoted by the group for decades, began to lose credibility as connections to terrorism and incitement to violence were increasingly revealed.
In 2019, a report by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency warned that the Muslim Brotherhood posed, in the medium term, a greater threat to democracy than ISIS and Al-Qaeda, although it did not directly link the three organizations.
A severe blow to the Brotherhood’s narrative
The direct linkage made in the U.S. counterterrorism strategy between these three organizations delivers a severe blow to the Muslim Brotherhood’s narrative and to the classifications it relied upon globally, marking a new phase in confronting the group as the “source of terrorism” and the primary feeder of extremist organizations.
In this context, Muslim Brotherhood expert Tarek Abu Al-Saad said that “the new U.S. strategy means that Washington no longer views the group as merely a political current that can be contained, but as the first step toward extremism and radicalization that ultimately leads to armed terrorism.”
He explained that “this entails tighter monitoring of funding networks and associations linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, broadening the concept of extremism and terrorism to include the ideological incubator, increased pressure on the group’s branches worldwide, and the possibility of a broader designation of the organization in the future, not limited to some of its branches.”
The root of terrorism
The strategy states: “President Donald Trump recognizes that all modern terrorist groups, from Al-Qaeda to ISIS to Hamas, trace their roots back to a single organization: the Muslim Brotherhood.”
It adds: “The Muslim Brotherhood is the origin of all modern terrorism. For this reason, the president took a historic step by issuing an executive order designating the original Egyptian branch of the group, along with the Jordanian and Lebanese branches, as foreign terrorist organizations, and additional branches will follow soon.”
“Given the central role played by the Muslim Brotherhood in fostering contemporary terrorism, the United States will continue to designate its branches across the Middle East and beyond as foreign terrorist organizations in order to crush the organization wherever it operates,” the strategy concludes.
