How to Bring Peace to Yemen? Start by Blacklisting the Islah Party

ADEN, YEMEN—It’s déjà vu all over again as Western diplomats reject terror designations because they believe a broad net is counterproductive.

The European Union refused to designate Hezbollah, for example, arguing that to do so could destabilize Lebanon as Hezbollah had interwoven itself into the country’s political fabric.

There has been little introspection in Brussels about how Israel’s castration of Hezbollah terrorists and its elimination of the group’s military campaign has actually revived Lebanon’s hopes for peace after decades of war.

The same debate repeated with in the run-up to President Donald Trump’s designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Critics chastised him both because the Revolutionary Guards are part of the Iranian military and also because as an organization, the Guards are not solely military, but also is a major actor in Iran’s economy. That was the point, however. By recognizing that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ economic wing enabled its terror, the United States could not only mow the grass, but uproot its roots.

Now, a similar debate rages in Washington about whether the United States should designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terror organization.

U.S. allies such as Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates already do so. The State Department resists the broad designation for two reasons. First, the Muslim Brotherhood is diffuse; it is not simply a structure, but also an ideology. Diplomats fear defining where the group ends. Second, the White House faces lobbying from states sympathetic to or captured by the Muslim Brotherhood like Qatar and Turkey.

The State Department worries that designating the Muslim Brotherhood in its entirety would force subsequent action against both allies, perhaps even forcing the designation of Qatar and Turkey as state sponsors of terrorism. Many universities and think tanks oppose such a broad Muslim Brotherhood designation because they fear the end of the cash they receive

Accepting either argument prioritizes convenience over fact. Policymakers can address the diffuse nature of the Muslim Brotherhood by designating individuals, much as the U.S. Department of the Treasury does with Al Qaeda and Hezbollah financiers. And, while designating supposed allies as State Sponsors of Terrorism may upset them, the response to this should be demands for reform, not denial of reality.

The United States once blacklisted South Korea and Israel for human trafficking; both Seoul and Jerusalem responded by working with Washington to reform and create legal frameworks necessary for their removal. Both Cyprus and Armenia likewise won their removal from money laundering lists by making opaque processes transparent. If Qatar and Turkey are sincere about ending terror associations, they should welcome reform rather than buy or bribe their way out of accountability.

In the interim, however, the U.S. State Department can sidestep some debate by designating specific Muslim Brotherhood branches whose record of terrorism is undeniable. Few outside Columbia and Georgetown University faculty question Hamas’ designation. Given incontrovertible proof that Muslim Brotherhood activists in the United Arab Emirates plotted a violent coup should be cause enough for a blanket designation of Al-Islah there.

If the United States is serious about peace in Yemen, it is also essential to designate the Yemeni Congregation for Reform, also called Islah, which the Muslim Brotherhood recognizes as its official branch in Yemen.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee sought to launder and normalize the Muslim Brotherhood by awarding its 2011 Nobel Prize to Tawakkol Karman, a 32-year-old activist with the Yemeni branch of the group. Thorbjoern Jagland, the Committee head, explained the politics behind the choice of Karman, telling the Associated Press, that “Karman belongs to a Muslim movement with links to the Muslim Brotherhood, ‘which in the West is perceived as a threat to democracy.’” “I don’t believe that,” he explained. “There are many signals that, that kind of movement can be an important part of the solution.”

Oslo remains aloof to reality. Rather than moderate, Yemeni Islah doubled down on terror after Karman’s prize. The same year the Norwegians bestowed her the award, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki sheltered in the homes of senior Islah officials. Islah’s Charitable Society for Social Welfare actively cooperated with the Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula [AQAP]-run Hadhrami Domestic Council during the terrorist group’s 2015-6 control of the port city of Mukalla. Islah leaders have also advocated including Al Qaeda in Yemen’s governance.

Its senior leaders support both Hamas and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Not only the United States but also the United Nations have blacklisted Islah leader Sheikh Abd al-Majid al-Zindani, a close associate of Al Qaeda founder Usama Bin Laden, for his support to Hamas and Al-Qaeda. In December 2016, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Al-Hasan Ali Ali Abkar, the head of Islah’s al-Jawf provincial branch, for “providing financial and material support to or in support of AQAP as well as acting for or on behalf of AQAP.” The following year, the U.S. government sanctioned Khalid Ali al-Arada, a member of Islah’s leadership council, for being an Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula member. Rather than condemn Al-Arada, Islah doubled down and criticized his designation as a “provocation.”

In October 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Yemeni businessman and Islah figure Hamid al-Ahmar as a “prominent international supporter of Hamas.” Hamid is the son of Sheikh Abdullah bin Husayn al-Ahmar, the former speaker of Yemen’s parliament, and a founder of Yemeni Islah. Al-Ahmar managed a $500 million Hamas investment portfolio that enriched both the group and Hamas and Islah leaders. Hamid today sits in exile in Turkey, where he works to coordinate Muslim Brotherhood parliamentarians worldwide.

Meanwhile. while the West and most Arab states reacted to the October 7, 2023 massacres in Israel with revulsion, Islah celebrated, with its Yemeni branch saluting Palestinian “resistance” and endorsing its “armed struggle” not only against Israel but also against the West more broadly.

Yemeni Islah’s record speaks for itself. At every opportunity, its leaders embrace Al Qaeda and Hamas rather than distance themselves from them. While the United States rightly targets the Houthis for their terrorism as the group launches its missiles and drones in solidarity with Hamas, it partners with Yemeni Islah by virtue of recognizing them as part of the Yemeni government. U.S. regional allies are right to question Washington’s seriousness as it empowers an Al Qaeda ally. The National Democratic Institute has even worked to expand Islah presence in South Yemen, the only stable part of the country.

Diplomats may worry that designating Yemeni Islah could destabilize Yemen, but this is foolish. Empowering an Al Qaeda front will not bring stability or peace to Yemen; it will only guarantee its continued failure. Yemeni Islah is as much a terrorist group as Hamas and the Houthis; it is time to treat it as such and signal to all Yemenis that the international community will stand with Yemenis against all extremists, no matter their tribe or sect.

Published originally on July 8, 2025.