Algeria’s Muslim Brothers: A long record of loyalty to foreign powers

Doaa Emam

Nation states have always had no value for the Muslim Brotherhood and the literature of the Islamist movement demonstrates this clearly.

This interprets calls by Muslim Brotherhood leaders and members for countries hostile to their home countries to interfere in them.

Speeches by Abderrazak Makri, the secretary-general of the Movement of Society for Peace, the branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in Algeria, are full of invitations for foreign interference, especially when it comes to the situation in Libya.

Makri said that Algeria could not handle the situation in Libya alone. He suggested that his country join China, Turkey, Russia and Iran.

The Movement of Society for Peace favored foreign countries on numerous occasions in the past. Makri attends conferences and meetings in Turkey and Malaysia on a regular basis. He sends representatives to meetings organized by the branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in Mauritania.

Fifth term crisis

The Movement of Society for Peace tended to internationalize the row over the desire of former Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika to run for a fifth term in the presidency, even as most Algerian political parties sought local solutions to the crisis.

The movement was instrumental in passing information about what happens inside Algeria onto Turkey, a strong backer of the Muslim Brotherhood. Makri even declared his initiative for national accord in Algeria in Istanbul. This came during a seminar on political developments in Algeria.

During the seminar, Makri said his country lacked political parties that could influence public opinion or institutions that could take real decisions.

“Algeria suffers a crisis of institutions,” Makri said during the seminar.

The seminar was held at the Center for Relations between Turkey and the Islamic world. The center is known to be a contact point between the branches of the Muslim Brotherhood around the world, on one hand, and Turkey, on the other.