The Muslim Brotherhood intensifies its activities to maintain influence in Britain… What’s New?
After the expulsion of several Muslim Brotherhood media figures from Britain and the measures taken by the executive and legislative authorities regarding some of the organization’s affiliated entities, Muslim Brotherhood activists have intensified their movements in Britain. They hold meetings with British officials, including Mark Rowley, the leader of the London Metropolitan Police.
According to the Arab Center for the Study of Extremism, Mark Rowley met with several Muslim Brotherhood figures, including Soha El-Sheikh and Jalal Youssef, both affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. However, they have been residing in Britain for some time and obtained British citizenship. Also present was international lawyer Taib Ali, a member of the legal team pursuing those involved in dispersing the Muslim Brotherhood sit-in at Rabaa Square in Egypt in 2013. The meetings also included representatives from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Muslim Council of Britain, and the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), among them Osama Al-Tikriti, the son of Anas Al-Tikriti, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Iraq and a member of the group’s international organization, born in Britain and holding its citizenship.
According to available information, the selection of Muslim Brotherhood figures who met with British officials, including the leader of the London Metropolitan Police, was based on mutual coordination. The British authorities informed the Brotherhood that they reject leaders of the group who do not hold British citizenship officially but do not object to meetings with Muslim Brotherhood members who have British citizenship.
Meetings and coordination between British authorities and the Muslim Brotherhood are expected to continue in the coming period. The leader of the London Metropolitan Police will facilitate communication with official authorities in the country, including the Muslim Council of Britain. An agreement was reached between the two sides to grant more space for action and movement in Britain to the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliated organizations, enabling them to expand their presence in addressing the affairs of Arabs and Muslims in the country, ensuring that none of them leans towards extremism or deviates from the agreed-upon line.
Following the meetings, a sense of relief and happiness prevailed among the Muslim Brotherhood in Britain. The officials in the Brotherhood‘s affiliated channels received reassurances from the British authorities regarding the freedom of media work at the present time, on the condition of adhering to the standards set by the authorities and not getting involved in supporting organizations listed on the country’s terrorism or anti-Semitism lists.
Recently, the British Home Office and Immigration canceled the entry visa for the journalist close to the Muslim Brotherhood, Moataz Matar, who hosts the program “With Moataz” on the channel (Al-Sha’ab), owned by the Brotherhood. This decision was made based on a complaint filed against him after he hosted the leader and one of the founders of the Al-Qassam Brigades in the West Bank, Abdel Hakim Hanini, in November of last year.
So far, no additional measures have been taken against Moataz Matar, and no charges have been brought against him before the British courts. The journalist close to the Brotherhood has assigned a law firm in Britain to handle the appeal to overturn the decision to cancel his entry visa to the country.
According to legal sources familiar with the procedures, it is expected that the decision will be overturned, allowing him to enter British territory, especially since it is the first time a decision to cancel the entry of a foreigner into the country has been issued based on his participation in a television interview.”
