Egypt has permanently designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist entity, ending the possibility of the group’s listing expiring under previous time-limited court rulings, according to a decision published in the Official Gazette on Monday, 9 November .
The decision, issued by the Office for Regulating Lists of Terrorist Entities and Terrorists at the Public Prosecution, also adds three individuals to Egypt’s terrorist list following final and binding court convictions.
The three individuals named in the decision are Abdel-Rahman Hassan Mohamed Meligy, Gamal Abdel-Hamid Gomaa Abdel-Hamid, and Osama Ibrahim Mohamed Mostafa El-Rakh.
The permanent designation follows several previous court decisions extending the Brotherhood’s classification as a terrorist organisation. Most recently, in December 2025, a court renewed the group’s designation for another five years.
Under Egypt’s Law No. 8 of 2015 regulating terrorist entities and terrorists, listing an organisation carries a series of legal consequences, including prohibiting its activities, closing its premises, banning its meetings, and freezing its assets.
The legislation also prohibits providing financial support to the organisation or collecting money and other resources on its behalf, whether directly or indirectly. The restrictions extend to assets held jointly or controlled through intermediaries, as well as any income generated from them.
The law further prohibits joining the listed organisation, encouraging others to become members, promoting its activities, or raising its slogans.
In April 2026, a State Security Criminal Court ordered the dissolution of several organisations affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and the closure of their headquarters in a case that also saw the group’s former acting Supreme Guide, Mahmoud Ezzat, sentenced to life imprisonment.
The three individuals will also face separate restrictions under the same legislation. These include travel bans, placement on arrival-watch lists, possible withdrawal or cancellation of passports, and the freezing of their financial assets.
Those listed are also barred from holding public office, working in government positions or public-sector companies, and participating in civil-society or religious advocacy activities. Their memberships in professional syndicates and boards of certain companies, associations, sports clubs, and other public-interest organisations are also suspended.
The latest decision comes amid increased international scrutiny of the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliated organisations.
In January 2026, the US Department of the Treasury designated the Egyptian and Jordanian branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as Specially Designated Global Terrorists, citing their alleged material support for Hamas.
Earlier, on 8 October 2026, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for individuals and organisations linked to the Brotherhood to be assessed for possible inclusion on the European Union’s terrorist list. The resolution passed with 381 votes in favour and 167 against.
Egypt first designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation in December 2013, following the removal of former president Mohamed Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood member, from power in July of that year.
However, Egypt’s terrorist lists have also undergone periodic reviews. In November 2024, a criminal court approved a Public Prosecution request to remove 716 individuals from the lists after investigations indicated they had ceased unlawful activities against the state.
The latest decision therefore marks a shift from the group’s previous time-limited designations to a permanent listing under Egypt’s counterterrorism framework.
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