Press Release
America’s Escalating Crackdown on Muslim Organizations

In a recent interview with radio host Sid Rosenberg, Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated the on-going process of designating the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as terrorist organizations. Secretary Rubio stated that such designations were “in the works, and obviously there are different branches of the Muslim Brotherhood, so you’d have to designate each one of them.”

While Rubio acknowledged such designations require legal processes to withstand challenges in the courts, his comments reflect a growing trend of framing certain Islamic movements – both foreign and domestic – as national security threats and adversaries to American foreign policy. This mirrors previous statements from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who stated that Mahmoud Khalil was targeted for being “adversarial to the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States of America.”

For decades, Muslims in America have been spied upon, profiled, criminalized, and intimidated under the guise of counterterrorism and national security. The Islamophobic rhetoric from previous administrations, both Democratic and Republican, has given rise to hate crimes against the Muslim community.

This is not just about the Muslim Brotherhood or CAIR, but rather it affects all Muslim organizations and our communities simultaneously. The targeting of Muslim organizations for political reasons — especially those advocating for Muslim causes or Islamic governance — cannot be viewed in isolation from the broader pattern of hostility towards Islam.

The Prophet (saw) and the Sahaba (ra) faced similar political bans, exile, and smear campaigns in Makkah — not for violence, but for calling to Islam.

Islam obliges us Muslims to defend our Deen, to speak the truth, and to organize collectively for the welfare of the Ummah. We Muslims in America must stand firm together on the Haqq (truth), unite our voices, defend one another, and reject the intimidation designed to silence us and make us hide our Deen.

Allah (swt) reminds us:

[إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ]“The believers are but one brotherhood...” [Al-Hujurat: 10]

[وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاء بَعْضٍ يَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلاَةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَيُطِيعُونَ اللّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ أُوْلَـئِكَ سَيَرْحَمُهُمُ اللّهُ إِنَّ اللّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ]

“The believers, both men and women, are guardians of one another. They encourage good and forbid evil, establish prayer and pay zakah, and obey Allah and His Messenger. It is they who will be shown Allah’s mercy. Surely Allah is Almighty, All-Wise” [At-Tawbah: 71].

We, from Hizb ut Tahrir, encourage all Muslim organizations to be guardians of one another. This is not about one organization. This is about the survival of our Islamic identity in America.

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir
in America