Islamic Group joining hands with Ankara in Lebanon

Mohamed Abdelghaffar

There is coherence between the expansionist dreams of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party, on one hand, and the dreams of the Muslim Brotherhood in all Arab countries, on the other.

This is particularly true after the series of protests that swept through the Arab region as of 2011 and came to be known as the “Arab Spring” later.

Lebanon

Erdogan offered strong support to the Islamic Group, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Lebanon.

Turkey hopes that this support will make the group capable of manipulating the Lebanese political scene.

In April 2017, a high-level delegation from the Justice and Development Party visited the headquarters of the group in the district of Akkar.

Talks between the two sides focused on means of strengthening relations and on amendments introduced to the Turkish constitution then.

Northern Lebanon

The Islamic Group is most active in the northern Lebanese cities. It also has presence in the southern cities which are controlled by the Hezbollah militia.

The group used all means to reach everybody in the northern Lebanese cities. It followed a political strategy, used the money and tried to infiltrate the professional unions.

It used the media in throwing light on its projects and services. It strengthened its relations with journalists and organized an annual dinner for the members of the media. Senior officials of the group usually attend the dinners and talk to the journalists.

The Islamic Group uses the ongoing Covid-19 crisis to come to the center of the political stage. It organizes awareness campaigns to educate the Lebanese public about the best practices to avoid being infected with this disease.

The group also sends its members to the Syrian refugee camps to distribute aid.