Turkey not yet ready to give up on Muslim Brotherhood
Turkey has shown a willingness to repair relations with Israel, Egypt, and other countries in the Middle East. But Ankara’s relations with the Muslim Brotherhood, a sticking point for almost all of these bilateral ties, are more complicated than meets the eye.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has often said that he wants to reconcile with the Gulf countries, Egypt and Israel. On Dec 7, Erdogan reiterated that better relations with Israel would benefit the regional peace.
But all these countries would like Ankara to curb its enthusiasm for the Muslium Brotherhood (MB), a global organization with different groups and political entities under its broad umbrella. MB has been declared a terrorist organization in countries such as Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Russia, UAE and Syria. Turkey has become a hub for exiled MB members after the Arab Spring. And today as Turkey wants to rebuild relations in the region, its support for MB is a major issue.
Since 2013, Qatar and Turkey have emerged as main supporters of MB. Unlike Qatar, whose support was mostly financial, Ankara’s relations are multilayered and complex. Reports have emerged that Israel has asked Turkey to close Hamas offices in Istanbul. But a senior bureaucrat, speaking on condition of anonymity in Ankara, told Al Monitor, “This is not even an option open for negotiation for us.”
In Turkey, MB has domestic support and organic growth. Erdogan’s pragmatism is well known, but on MB issues over the last two decades his support has not wavered.
