Search for a safe haven: Dissolution of Brotherhood’s office in Turkey reverberates

Hossam al-Haddad

A few days ago, the acting general guide of the Brotherhood, Ibrahim Mounir, decided to dissolve the group’s administrative office and Shura Council in Turkey with the postponement of its elections for six months.

This decision came after the terrorist group decided to expel its members from Turkey and leave for other countries, led by Canada, Britain, the Netherlands, Malaysia and a number of Balkan countries.

It is noteworthy that all these Brotherhood developments began months ago with the timid rapprochement taking place between Cairo and Ankara.

Recently, new details were revealed about the Brotherhood’s decision to dissolve its administrative office and Shura Council in Turkey, with the postponement of the country’s elections, which were scheduled to take place during the month of July, for a period of six months.

Reliable sources indicated to Al-Arabiya.net that the decision was issued under the guidance of the Turkish authorities, and Mounir was forced to deal with it and sign it.

Reasons for dissolution

Those sources indicated that among the reasons that prompted this step was that a group of the Egyptian Brotherhood rejected the Egyptian-Turkish rapprochement.

Another reason was a meeting of a number of leaders of that group with the head of the IYI Party opposing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and they offered to support it financially and politically.

In addition to the previous justifications, there were financial and administrative irregularities in the group’s office revealed by previous audio leaks of leader Amir Bassam, who confirmed that Brotherhood leaders registered real estate, property and funds for the group in their names and the names of their sons.

The sources also revealed that there are many objections within the Brotherhood to the group’s performance and orientations, especially since it was elected by only four of the Brotherhood’s offices abroad, and upon its election, it abolished what was known as the Foreign Office and, under the leadership of Mahmoud Hussein, took control of financial and administrative matters.

Those close to it received financial privileges represented in monthly salaries that exceeded $3,500 per person, obtaining nationalities and permanent residence in Turkey, and educational and university grants, while depriving those who are not close and those affiliated with the other team led by Amr Darrag, Ali Batikh and Dr. Ahmed Abdel Rahman.

The sources also saw that the decision to dissolve the group’s office and Shura Council was also aimed at covering up the violations of that group and its involvement in financial embezzlement and looting of Brotherhood property and funds, as well as the allocation of investments in their names and the names of their families and their children.

They emphasized that all these factors were behind the Turkish directives to abolish the administrative office and hold elections after six months to choose new faces that can reunite the group and not to involve the Turkish regime in crises with Egypt.

The sources also added that Mounir and the leaders of the international organization responded to these directives, and the decision was issued to sign the person in charge of the guide.

Expert opinions

Regarding Mounir’s recent decisions, a well-informed Turkish political source, in an exclusive interview with Al-Ain News, considered that Mounir’s decisions, especially regarding the postponement of the group’s Shura Council elections in Istanbul, took place with the intervention of the Turkish authorities as a sign of goodwill in the country as an attempt to resume normalization with Egypt after the path of developing relations faltered in the recent period.

The source, preferring to remain anonymous for security reasons, said that most likely the next destination of the Turkish Brotherhood will be London.

The political source stressed that “the Brotherhood is experiencing its worst days since they came to Ankara, after fear and anxiety dominated them, especially with the many indications that their departure from Turkey to a third country is imminent, in addition to reducing the role of its media platforms.”

He pointed out that Mounir’s decisions reflect the lack of a place for them in Turkey in the near future, and they are waiting for their deportation at any moment, noting that many members of the organization have already prepared to leave.

For her part, Dr. Dalal Mahmoud, professor of political science at Cairo University, said that Mounir’s recent decisions may have been at the behest of the Turkish authorities. “If there was no coordination between the two sides, Mounir or others in the organization would not be able to issue a decision to dissolve the administrative office in Ankara.”

Mahmoud believed that Ankara’s standing behind Mounir’s decisions may carry an ostensible attitutde aimed at bridging the distances with Egypt, but without definitively severing the connection with the Brotherhood organization through an understanding with the latter on the issue of managing the organization’s affairs from London, not Ankara.

Erdogan’s regime is seeking to placate the Turkish street, especially with the approach of the elections, after the opposition has become sharper and clearer, Mahmoud said, adding, “Anger in Turkey against Erdogan has escalated with his continued support for the Brotherhood, despite the group’s wrong behaviors in more than one country, whether in Tunisia or Libya.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Tarek Fahmy, professor of political science at Cairo University, also warned that the reason for dissolving the administrative office and postponing the elections was the position of the Turkish government and the pressure of the international organization of the group in London.

Fahmy also agreed with Dr. Dalal Mahmoud’s proposal, saying, “The postponement of the Shura Council elections in Turkey may come within the framework of Ankara’s attempt to delude the Egyptian side, which is taking practical measures towards rapprochement.”

“But the decision to dissolve the administrative office must be issued by the international organization of the group and not from Mounir or from the Guidance Office or his representative,” he added.

“So far, there is no official decision to dissolve the administrative office, but the decision is expected to be officially issued regarding the international organization of the Brotherhood,” Fahmy explained.

Crisis

Mounir’s decision sparked a major crisis and a state of conflict within the Brotherhood in Turkey and angered a large segment of the organization’s historical leaders who sought to issue a statement to isolate Mounir.

Brotherhood leader Mohamed Emad Eldin Saber acknowledged the organization’s crisis in Ankara, telling one of the organization’s websites that the new decisions “come in order to create the atmosphere for holding new elections on correct grounds in light of conditions that needed correction and rectification.”

In his statements, Saber claimed that “the decision to dissolve the administrative office in Turkey and the Shura Council, whose term has expired, must be based on a realistic and serious change.”