Why the US is right to move against the Muslim Brotherhood

The mid-sized town of Greeley, Colorado, might seem an unlikely place for the roots of 20th-century Islamist extremism to take hold. But it was here in the late 1940s that Sayyid Qutb, an Egyptian student at a local teacher-training college who would go on to become a leading ideologue of the Muslim Brotherhood, is said to have become radicalised.

Repelled by what he saw as suburban Colorado's decadent and permissive culture, on his return to Egypt he published a book called What I have Seen in America before resigning from his civil service job and joining the Islamist political party.

Founded in Egypt nearly a century ago, the Brotherhood is an international political organisation that has provided much of the intellectual scaffolding for modern violent extremism in the Middle East and other parts of the world. It is designated a terrorist organisation by several countries, including Egypt itself, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Russia, while countries like Austria and Jordan have banned their activities. Now, the US appears set to join them.

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump said he would designate the Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO). The move, telegraphed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in August, would be an important step in a process of curbing the group’s activities in America. The US is right to take action; although the Brotherhood has not directly claimed responsibility for any attacks on American soil, its preachers are thought to have inspired many who have participated in such attacks. There are few strands of Islamist radicalism that do not have the movement’s fingerprints on it.

Palestinian students in Hebron hold a poster depicting Hassan Al Banna, the Muslim Brotherhood's founder. The group has provided much of the intellectual scaffolding for modern violent extremism in the Middle East. Reuters

Through fundraising and inculcating ideological sympathy for violent radicals through various front groups, the Brotherhood is an influe