The senator from Texas said he was proud “to advance America’s fight against radical Islamic terrorism.”
By Josh Plank, World Israel News
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) reintroduced the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act this week, urging the U.S. State Department to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), his office announced on Wednesday.
“I am proud to reintroduce this bill and to advance America’s fight against radical Islamic terrorism,” said Cruz.
“I commend the current administration’s work calling terrorism by its name and combatting the spread of this potent threat, and I look forward to receiving the additional information this new bill requests from the Department of State,” he said, referring to the bill’s requirement that the State Department report to Congress about whether the Muslim Brotherhood meets the legal criteria for FTO designation.
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates are among the nations that have already designated the group as a terrorist organization, noted Cruz.
“Many of our closest allies in the Arab world have long ago concluded that the Muslim Brotherhood is a terrorist group that seeks to sow chaos across the Middle East, and I will continue working with my colleagues to take action against groups that finance terrorism,” he said.
The bill is being cosponsored by Senators Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), and Pat Roberts (R-Kan.).
“Since the founding of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Brotherhood affiliated groups have consistently preached and incited hatred against Christians, Jews, and other Muslims while supporting designated radical terrorists,” said Inhofe.
“I am proud that under the Trump administration we continue to call out and combat radical terrorism and I am glad to join my colleagues today in reintroducing this legislation. We must continue to condemn Foreign Terrorist Organizations and hold them accountable for the evil they perpetrate,” he said.
Cruz first introduced the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act in 2015 and again in 2017.
Last month, the Muslim Brotherhood congratulated Joe Biden on becoming the projected president-elect.
In a statement on its official website, the terror group said it “appreciates the American electoral process, which resulted in Mr. Joe Biden winning the position of the new President of the United States, a victory that proves that the American people are still able to impose their will.”
The terror group said that it “wishes Mr. Biden, the American people, and the peoples of the whole world to continue to live in dignity under the principles of freedom, justice, democracy and respect for human rights.”