Will the Course of Egyptian-Turkish Relations Lead to ‘Bigger Steps’ against the Muslim Brotherhood?

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi shook hands with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the presence of the Emir of Qatar on the sidelines of the World Cup opening. (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi shook hands with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the presence of the Emir of Qatar on the sidelines of the World Cup opening. (Egyptian Presidency)
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Will the Course of Egyptian-Turkish Relations Lead to ‘Bigger Steps’ against the Muslim Brotherhood?

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi shook hands with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the presence of the Emir of Qatar on the sidelines of the World Cup opening. (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi shook hands with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the presence of the Emir of Qatar on the sidelines of the World Cup opening. (Egyptian Presidency)

Reports about the developments in the Egyptian-Turkish relations raised questions about whether the new path would lead to “bigger steps” against the Muslim Brotherhood organization in Türkiye during the coming period.

In recent remarks, Turkish Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism, Sardar Cam, criticized the Muslim Brotherhood, saying: “The organization has lost its position due to divisions and affinity with violent groups.”

He added: “Now there are Brotherhood groups”, referring to the organization’s division into three conflicting fronts, namely the London and Istanbul fronts and the Change Movement.

Egyptian expert in fundamentalist affairs, Amr Abdel Moneim, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the statement of the Turkish deputy minister was “the first and the most dangerous official Turkish comment against the Muslim Brotherhood.”

On the sidelines of the opening of the World Cup hosted by Qatar, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi shook hands with his Turkish counterpart.

Egyptian presidential spokesman, Bassam Rady, stated that Sisi shook hands with Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdogan in Doha, and that both have affirmed “the depth of the historical ties linking the two countries and the Egyptian and Turkish peoples… and agreed that this would be a beginning of the development of bilateral relations.”

Press reports quoted the Turkish president as saying on his return flight from Qatar that his encounter with his Egyptian counterpart was a “first step towards further normalization of relations between the two countries.”

He added: “Other moves will follow.”

The Egyptian researcher specializing in fundamentalist affairs said that the Muslim Brotherhood organization and its various factions in Türkiye, were examining the Turkish reaction after the imprisonment of pro-organization journalist Hossam Al-Ghamry, and accusations against him related to Turkish national security.

“It seems there is a specific directive from the Turkish authorities to control the Brotherhood’s media discourse over Egypt, paralleled with a turn to change some names of entities and associations affiliated with the organization in Türkiye," he stated.

During the past months, Ankara took steps that Cairo described as “positive,” pertaining to stopping the Muslim Brotherhood’s “incitement” campaigns and political activities in its territory, and preventing the organization’s media professionals from criticizing Egypt.



Tunisia Activists Launch Gaza-bound Convoy in 'Symbolic Act'

 Tunisians gather at a meeting point in Tunis on June 9, 2025, ahead of the departure of a land convoy named “Steadfastness” to break the siege on Gaza. (AFP)
Tunisians gather at a meeting point in Tunis on June 9, 2025, ahead of the departure of a land convoy named “Steadfastness” to break the siege on Gaza. (AFP)
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Tunisia Activists Launch Gaza-bound Convoy in 'Symbolic Act'

 Tunisians gather at a meeting point in Tunis on June 9, 2025, ahead of the departure of a land convoy named “Steadfastness” to break the siege on Gaza. (AFP)
Tunisians gather at a meeting point in Tunis on June 9, 2025, ahead of the departure of a land convoy named “Steadfastness” to break the siege on Gaza. (AFP)

Hundreds of people, mainly Tunisians, launched on Monday a land convoy bound for Gaza, seeking to "break the siege" on the Palestinian territory, activists said.

Organizers said the nine-bus convoy was not bringing aid into Gaza, but rather aimed at carrying out a "symbolic act" by breaking the blockade on the territory described by the United Nations as "the hungriest place on Earth".

The "Soumoud" convoy, meaning "steadfastness" in Arabic, includes doctors and aims to arrive in Rafah, in southern Gaza, "by the end of the week", activist Jawaher Channa told AFP.

It is set to pass through Libya and Egypt, although Cairo has yet to provide passage permits, she added.

"We are about a thousand people, and we will have more join us along the way," said Channa, spokeswoman of the Tunisian Coordination of Joint Action for Palestine, the group organizing the caravan.

"Egypt has not yet given us permission to cross its borders, but we will see what happens when we get there," she said.

Channa said the convoy was not set to face issues crossing Libya, "whose people have historically supported the Palestinian cause", despite recent deadly clashes in the country that remains divided between two governments.

Algerian, Mauritanian, Moroccan and Libyan activists were also among the group, which is set to travel along the Tunisian and Libyan coasts, before continuing on to Rafah through Egypt.

After 21 months of war, Israel is facing mounting international pressure to allow more aid into Gaza to alleviate widespread shortages of food and basic supplies.

On June 1, the Madleen aid boat, boarded by activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and European parliament member Franco-Palestinian Rima Hassan, set sail for Gaza from Italy.

But on Monday morning Israel intercepted it, preventing it from reaching the Palestinian territory.

The UN has warned that the Palestinian territory's entire population is at risk of famine.