Texas Sen. Ted Cruz Introduces Bill Calling For Congress to Label Muslim Brotherhood as Terrorist Organization

2016 presidential hopeful and Texas Senator Ted Cruz introduced a bill this week that would identify the Muslim Brotherhood political party as a terrorist organization.

Cruz, along with other House Republicans, introduced the legislation to the U.S. Senate this week.

"This bill recognizes the simple fact that the Muslim Brotherhood is a radical Islamic terrorist group," Cruz said in a statement. "A number of our Muslim allies have taken this common sense step, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the [United Arab Emirates]."

The legislation, also known as the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act, requests that Secretary of State John Kerry identify the group as being an international terrorist organization.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which is based primarily in Egypt, made international headlines during the Arab Spring two years ago.

According to The Hill, Cruz added in his statement that "As this bill details, the Brotherhood's stated goal is to wage violent jihad against its enemies, and our legislation is a reality check that the United States is on that list as well."

Although proponents of the Muslim Brotherhood argue that the organization is a political group, Cruz argued that such a notion is a "fantasy."

"Now we can reject the fantasy that their parent institution is a political entity that is somehow separate from these violent activities," Cruz said.

The legislation argues that if "the Secretary of State determines that the Muslim Brotherhood does not meet the criteria," it must submit to Congress "a detailed justification as to which criteria have not been met."