WASHINGTON: The United States has not designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist outfit, said the US State Department while rejecting the suggestion that it was the ideological source of militancy in the world.

At a recent meeting with Republican congressmen, former US Vice President Dick Cheney called the Egyptian Islamist group the ideological source of militancy in the world. He also claimed that US President Barack Obama had “actually done things that have supported the Muslim Brotherhood”.

At a news briefing in Washington, an Egyptian journalist repeated Mr Cheney’s allegation and reminded, State Department’s spokesperson Marie Harf that Qatar had recently expelled seven Muslim Brotherhood leaders.

“The United States has not designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organisation. Obviously, this is a complex issue and you will not be surprised that I disagree with the former vice president on this and probably a number of other things,” said Ms Harf.

President Obama tried to work with the Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi, when he was elected Egypt’s fifth president on June 30, 2012.

But he did not try to prevent the Egyptian army from toppling Mr Morsi when Field Marshal Abdel Fattah el-Sisi toppled him in June 2013 after widespread protests against the Brotherhood.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2014