For decades, the Muslim Brotherhood has projected itself as a social and religious reform movement. Yet, across continents, governments and security services have documented how the Brotherhood’s ideology serves as a gateway to radicalisation and, in some cases, violent extremism. In Africa, its presence has been tied to destabilisation and the emergence of armed affiliates. In France, its networks have exploited democratic freedoms to build parallel institutions that threaten the secular fabric of the Republic.
As French authorities debate whether to classify the Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation, the African experience provides important lessons on why such a designation is both necessary and urgent.
The Brotherhood’s Ideological Roots of Violence
The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 with the stated goal of returning Muslim societies to religious governance. While its leaders often avoid explicit calls for violence, its writings and scholars have provided ideological justifications for jihadist movements. Al-Qaeda and ISIS both draw upon Brotherhood thinkers like Sayyid Qutb to legitimise their causes.
In France, intelligence services have warned that Brotherhood-linked associations and schools act as incubators for separatist ideologies. These institutions do not always promote direct violence, but they cultivate a mindset of withdrawal from secular society and allegiance to transnational Islamist identity — a fertile ground for radicalisation.
African Incidents: A Warning Sign
The African continent provides a stark reminder that the Brotherhood cannot be separated from extremist violence.
Egypt’s Hasm Movement:
Egyptian authorities have repeatedly linked the Hasm movement to the Brotherhood. Hasm has carried out attacks on police checkpoints and government officials, with members killed in raids while stockpiling weapons. In July 2025, Egyptian forces announced they had killed two Hasm militants planning attacks on state security institutions in Giza. The group has claimed responsibility for a string of assassinations and attempted bombings, underlining the Brotherhood’s blurred line between ideology and violence.
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Kenya’s Proscription:
In September 2025, Kenya formally banned the Muslim Brotherhood under its Prevention of Terrorism Act. The government argued that Brotherhood networks were contributing to radicalisation and financing extremist narratives in East Africa, making them a direct threat to national and regional security. By taking preventive action, Kenya joined a growing list of nations across Africa and the Middle East — including Egypt and the UAE — that no longer see the Brotherhood as a legitimate political or religious movement, but as a threat.
These African cases demonstrate that where the Brotherhood is given space to operate, it can foster groups that turn to violence. France cannot ignore these lessons.
France’s Security and Social Cohesion
Domestically, France faces its own Brotherhood dilemma. A government-commissioned report in May 2025 concluded that the movement “runs counter to national cohesion,” naming associations such as Musulmans de France as its French branch. The closure of the European Institute of Human Sciences, long accused of serving as a Brotherhood training centre for imams, signals that the state has already begun dismantling its infrastructure.
The 2021 anti-separatism law equips authorities with tools to dissolve associations and monitor funding, but a terrorist classification would give France greater powers: freezing assets, banning symbols and literature, and prosecuting those who provide support. With French public opinion still scarred by a history of Islamist terrorist attacks, the political momentum for decisive action exists.
The French government must stress that the target is not Islam but the politicisation of faith for extremist ends. By dismantling Brotherhood structures, the state is protecting Muslim communities from ideological exploitation and ensuring that religion remains a matter of personal faith, not political subversion.
The Muslim Brotherhood has proven itself a threat not just in France but across Africa. From Egypt’s Hasm militants to Kenya’s preventive ban, the evidence shows a movement that cannot be disentangled from extremist violence and radicalisation. France has already laid the groundwork with its anti-separatism law and closures of Brotherhood-linked institutions. A terrorist designation would be the logical next step.
By learning from African precedents, France can act decisively, aligning with international allies while protecting its own citizens and communities. To hesitate now would be to ignore the mounting evidence that the Brotherhood is not simply a religious movement but a political machine feeding extremism. France, scarred by terrorism yet committed to secularism, has every reason to act.
