Washington, April 30 (IANS) The Donald Trump administration is pushing for designating the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organisation, according to officials familiar with the matter.

The Muslim Brotherhood, set up in 1928 in Egypt, has for decades used violence to pursue its goal of a society governed by Islamic law. It renounced violence in the 1970s and embraced democracy, although some of its off-shoots and former members continued to engage in terrorism.

The White House directed national security and diplomatic officials to find a way to impose sanctions on the group after the April 9 White House visit by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, for whom the Brotherhood represents a source of political opposition, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. 

At a private meeting, El-Sisi urged Trump to take the step and join Egypt in branding the Islamist movement a terrorist organisation.

Its branding as a terrorist organisation would impose wide-ranging economic and travel sanctions on companies and individuals who interact with the group. According to daily, Trump responded affirmatively to El-Sisi, saying "it would make sense".

But the proposal prompted fierce debate within the administration, including at a senior-level meeting of policymakers from various departments last week convened by the White House's National Security Council, the officials said.