Erdogan versus Muslim Brotherhood

Erdogan versus Muslim Brotherhood

Dr. Jassim Taqui

The former DCM of the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad Dr. Reza Shehata once disclosed to me some very sensitive news about the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). Shehata disclosed that his American PH.D. Supervisor advised him to conduct his research in the huge Congress Library. His thesis was on the US-MB relations and implication on the Middle East issue. At that time, CIA declassified 30 years old documents and placed them in the Congress Library. To his surprise, Shehata found some very serious documents establishing that CIA created, financed and helped MB to topple the legendary Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser.

While all other researchers were allowed to get a photocopy of the declassified documents, Shehata was told he could not have access to these documents. When he protested the illegal ban, he was told that he could “see only” the documents.

Some forty years later and in 2015, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Syria and Russian Federation declared MB as a terrorist organization and closed all its offices.

However, the relations between the Egyptian President Tayyip Erdogan and MB remained to be very strong. Both Erdogan and MB’s chief Mohamed Badie remained in touch. Both raise the motto, “Islam is the Solution,” but both used un-Islamic methods including the brutal use of force and torture against their adversaries.

MB’s rule in Egypt ended by the second revolution of the Egyptian people on 30^th June 2012 when millions of people gathered in Liberation Square, demanding the resignation of MB’s nominee Mohammed Morsi. During his trial, Mursi was accused of leaking classified military documents to Israel, Turkey and Iran. He was also accused of asking the Al-Qaeda chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri to provide him with 1000 fighters to target western tourists in Egypt.

Fearing another cycle of chaos and anarchy, the Egyptian COAS Gen. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi toppled him in a military coup on 3^rd July 2013.

Same development happened in Turkey but with a difference. In Egypt, the people revolted first and the army intervened later. But in Turkey, a coup took place first. Erdogan mobilized his followers in the aftermath the coup asking them to resort to the streets tactics to foil the coup.

The one-million-dollar question is “Would Erdogan continues to rule or he would be kicked outside power facing the same fate of Morsi?