What is the Muslim Brotherhood?

What the organization is

The Muslim Brotherhood is a transnational Sunni Islamist movement that seeks to implement sharia, meaning Islamic Relations law, under a global caliphate. Founded in Egypt in 1928, it is that country's oldest Islamist organization and has branches throughout the world. Sharia is the body of religious law derived from the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad; a caliphate is a single unified Islamic state governed by that law.

It was founded by schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in Ismailia, Egypt, and began as a pan-Islamist religious and social movement, building popular support through proselytization, political activism, and social welfare. The organization initially focused on educational and charitable work, but quickly grew to become a major political force by championing the cause of disenfranchised classes and promoting a conception of Islam that attempted to restore broken links between tradition and modernity.

While its branches operate under a variety of names and use social, political, and occasionally violent methods, they share a commitment to establishing rule according to sharia. The most notable Brotherhood offshoot is Hamas, the Palestinian militant group operating out of the Gaza Strip.

Its legal status today

The Brotherhood's standing in law varies sharply by country. Muslim-majority countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain have already designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization.

In the United States, the picture is more complicated. President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing that certain chapters or subdivisions of the Muslim Brotherhood be considered for designation as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Acting on that order, the U.S. departments of Treasury and State designated the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood, also known as al-Jamaa al-Islamiyah, as both a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. The global Brotherhood organization itself has not been designated under U.S. federal law, though bills requiring that designation have been introduced in Congress.

Why it keeps coming up in the Michigan Senate race

Republican Mike Rogers claimed without evidence that El-Sayed had "pledged his support" to the Muslim Brotherhood. There is no evidence that El-Sayed has ties to the organization or pledged support, although he has occasionally weighed in on Egyptian affairs and politicians associated with the group, according to a Bridge Michigan review.

The specific document at issue is more nuanced. A 2012 Arabic-language statement published on an Egyptian news portal and signed by 46 "leaders of the Egyptian community" in the United States included El-Sayed's name. El-Sayed's campaign did not respond to requests for comment about that letter.

Senator Ted Cruz has also tied El-Sayed to the Brotherhood through his father-in-law's work with Muslim nonprofits, claiming at a Senate Judiciary hearing that the father-in-law is involved with organizations Cruz described as founded by Brotherhood affiliates, including the Islamic Society of North America and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

El-Sayed has fired back at such claims before, including at a 2018 gubernatorial forum where he pushed back sharply against Patrick Colbeck's claims linking him to the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed is a practicing Muslim of Egyptian descent who was born and raised in Michigan. Critics of the attacks say they amount to guilt by association, holding one candidate responsible for the affiliations and statements of relatives and community members, a standard applied to no one else running for office.