Divisions Emerge within Muslim Brotherhood as Visit by Turkish Officials to Egypt Draws Near

Regional and international parties are highly anticipating a visit declared by Turkish officials to Cairo with the aim of continuous efforts to succeed in an understanding to fix the rift between their countries.

As the visit draws near, differences still emerge from within the Muslim Brotherhood, which is labeled as terrorist by Egypt.

General Guide of the Brotherhood, Ibrahim Munir, sparked outrage when he revealed that several of the group’s leaders met with head of the Turkish opposition Felicity Party. the event led to varied disputes within the group, which has been compounded by the recent Egyptian-Turkish rapprochement.

In his statement, Munir said that some Brotherhood leaders and “other forces” sought a gathering with some Turkish civil groups to deal with things of Egyptian “refugees” in Turkey.

He expressed the Brotherhood’s full reference to the laws and regulations in Turkey, thanking Ankara for its hosting of the “refugees”.

His regard to Egyptian expatriates as “refugees” didn’t go unnoticed.

The Muslim Brotherhood youth branch was outraged by Munir’s statement, dismissing his “thanks and gratitude” as “shame”. It distanced itself from the statement, saying Munir was yielding to the authorities – an approach he has adopted since the Brotherhood was ousted from power in Egypt in 2013.

Turkish secretary of state Mevlut Cavusoglu announced in April that a delegation from his country would visit Egypt in early May.

Cairo has not confirmed or denied the visit, but secretary of state Sameh Shoukry said that Ankara’s efforts to fix ties were “appreciated”.

Tarek Fahmy, politics professor at Cairo University, told Asharq Al-Awsat that ought to Cairo and Ankara continue their rapprochement the upcoming visit will have a “real and major” impact on the region.