Kuala Lumpur: New haven for Brotherhood fugitives instead of Doha and Ankara

Doaa Emam

After talk about the displacement of Brotherhood elements and leaders from Turkey and Qatar in order to remove the embarrassment from the group’s support systems, the matter turned into a serious endeavor to search for other countries to harbor them after their presence in Turkey and Qatar became seriously threatened and their departure became imperative.

The Kuala Lumpur Summit 2019 has brought a renewed look at Malaysia and the Brotherhood’s situation there, especially in light of hosting Qatar, Turkey and Iran at the mini-summit that was interpreted by observers as seeking to make an Islamic bloc.

Statements emerged attributed to the Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad confirming that the summit is not a forum for discussing matters related to Islam, but rather to specifically address the situation of the Muslim Ummah and to “launch a new approach in cooperation.”

Parallel discussions by the group’s youth took place around a number of countries, most notably “Malaysia, Germany and Brazil”, and the Brotherhood elements talked about tricks that help them to obtain residency. They made their destination Malaysia, taking advantage of the presence of a large Brotherhood representation, as well as companies operating in secret in the Southeast Asian country that stays out of sight.

According to Algerian writer Osama Al-Rantisi, the Kuala Lumpur Summit 2019 represents a new destination for elements of the international Brotherhood organization, considering that the summit of only five countries is looking at how to transport Brotherhood leaders from Qatar and Turkey to Malaysia as a new lifeline, especially after pressure on Doha increased from the presence of those expelled from their countries, where it became the capital of the group’s homeless.

In an article titled “Malaysia: The New Qibla of Hajj for the International Muslim Brotherhood Organization”, published on Wednesday, December 18, Rantisi added that Qatar, which has been the international sponsor of the group for years and the refuge of Brotherhood leaders, and Turkey, which is the group’s second supporter and the host of the international organization after the noose was tightened on them in Egypt, are in Malaysia discussing the next phase in resettling Brotherhood leaders.

Malaysia also hosted a number of conferences for the international Brotherhood organization from December 2017 to March 2018, including a convention on moderation and modesty sponsored by Malaysia’s main party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), in the presence of Khaled Meshaal, former head of the political bureau of Hamas; Abdul Mawgoud Dardery, member of the Foreign Relations Committee in Egypt’s banned Freedom and Justice Party (FJP); and Rida Fahmy, an FJP leader. The latter said in his speech that Malaysia confirmed its support for the Brotherhood.

A number of Brotherhood leaders stated that Malaysia is the best choice for them because of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party’s (PAS) adoption of the group’s approach and its association with the international organization.