Sudanese welcome Trump move to designate Muslim Brotherhood a terror group

US President Donald Trump./XINHUA 

Social media platforms witnessed widespread engagement over the past hours following the circulation of photos and video clips showing Sudanese citizens expressing their gratitude to US President Donald Trump.

The appreciations come after Trump's administration decided to designate the Muslim Brotherhood in Sudan as a terrorist organisation.

Activists considered this step an important shift in dealing with Islamist groups in the country.

While sharing the news on his X account, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the Sudanese Muslim Brotherhood, trained and supported by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation and Specially Designated Global Terrorist for mass executions of civilians.

Rubio added that they will continue to use all available tools to deprive the Iranian regime and Muslim Brotherhood chapters of the resources they need to engage in or support terrorism.

The images, which spread rapidly across platforms such as X and Facebook, showed groups of Sudanese citizens carrying banners and pictures of the U.S. president, alongside direct messages of thanks such as “Thank you, Trump” and “The Muslim Brotherhood are terrorists.”

Activists viewed these messages as reflecting popular support for the American decision, especially amid the ongoing debate about the role of political and religious organizations in the crises Sudan has witnessed in recent years.

These scenes came as part of supportive demonstrations that took place in the city of Nyala, the largest city in the Darfur region, where dozens of protesters gathered in several streets and public squares to celebrate the American decision.

Participants raised banners supporting the move and calling for stricter measures against what they described as “Islamic extremism,” stressing that the decision represents international support for Sudanese demands to end the influence of movements linked to the Muslim Brotherhood inside the country.

According to American media reports, the White House announced the new designation as part of a broader counterterrorism strategy targeting a number of organizations that Washington believes are involved in activities threatening regional stability.

The reports indicated that the decision was based on the organization’s links and activities inside Sudan and within its regional environment, which prompted Washington to include it on the list of terrorist organizations.

For their part, a number of Sudanese activists considered the decision to represent a “moral victory” for the Sudanese people, who have suffered for many years from political and security conflicts linked to the presence of Islamist currents either in power or within the political landscape.

They also considered that designating the organization as terrorist could contribute to reducing its influence within state institutions and society. In the city of Nyala, eyewitnesses described the demonstrations as peaceful and full of enthusiasm, with large numbers of young people and women participating, while protesters chanted slogans supporting the American decision.

They also indicated that the gatherings lasted for hours in a celebratory atmosphere, with a notable presence of activists who documented the event through photos and videos and shared them on social media.

Analysts believe that the popular reactions that appeared in some Sudanese cities reflect the broad and growing rejection of the Muslim Brotherhood within the country, at a time when Sudan continues to pass through a complex political phase in which security and economic challenges intersect with the struggle among political forces over the future of governance.