Designating the Muslim Brotherhood? A Conversation with Sir John Jenkins

Summary

Various members of Congress and individuals close to the Trump administration have called for designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. The issue is extremely complex and with tremendous repercussions internationally and domestically. On February 15, 2017, the Program on Extremism at The George Washington University hosted Sir John Jenkins for an expert discussion on how Western governments can best assess and formulate policies towards Brotherhood groups. 

In March 2014, Sir John was asked by British Prime Minister David Cameron to lead a Policy Review into the Muslim Brotherhood and Political Islamism. The government-wide process investigated the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood worldwide and inside the United Kingdom and led to the formulation of policy recommendations. Although the investigation found that the group has a problematic and complex relationship with violence, it did not recommend a terrorist designation of the Muslim Brotherhood in the UK. 

Sir John currently serves as Executive Director of The International Institute for Strategic Studies - Middle East and is a Senior Fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute. He served in the British Diplomatic Service for 35 years, most of which he spent in the Middle East. Among his many appointments, he served as Ambassador to Syria (2006-07), Foreign and Commonwealth Office Director for the Middle East and North Africa (2007-09), Ambassador to Iraq (2009-11), Special Representative to the National Transitional Council and subsequently Ambassador to Libya (2011) and Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2012-2015). He holds a BA (Double First Class Honors) and a Ph.D from Jesus College, Cambridge. He was created a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order in 1989, a Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 2007 and a Knight Commander of the same order (KCMG) in 2012.

Discussants:
Sir John Jenkins, Executive Director of The International Institute for Strategic Studies - Middle East
Dr. Lorenzo Vidino, Director of the Program on Extremism
Mokhtar Awad, Research Fellow at the Program on Extremism