The Muslim Brotherhood’s future in Egypt/Turkey following Sisi-Erdogan summit

With the end of the political rift between Turkey and Egypt, and the rift being mended between Doha and Cairo in 2021, the movement is facing a regional weakening. This increases the pressure on it, exacerbates its predicament, and poses an existential threat, as it is left with limited options and allies.

The shifts in Turkish policy towards Egypt create a crisis for the Brotherhood, as it raises the issue of citizenship granted to several of its leaders, with talks of violations, as well as reviews by the Turkish authorities. Observers believe that there’s going to be a reduction in the Brotherhood’s presence in Turkiye, or perhaps pressure for the transfer of some of their leaders, who are wanted by the Egyptian authorities, to European capitals. Steps could also include restricting members’ activities, and refusing to renew the residency of some of them, while prohibiting any media or political activity hostile to Cairo.

Things may escalate to the point of stripping some Brotherhood leaders of their Turkish citizenship against the backdrop of alleged legal violations in the procedures for granting them it in the first place. This is a sensitive issue supervised by new Interior Minister Ali Yerli Kaya, who pledged after assuming his position last June to combat illegal immigration, deport illegal immigrants, and control the file of refugees and foreign residents on Turkish territory.

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