Turkey's pragmatism bodes ill for future ties with Brotherhood

The deportation by Turkish authorities of Muslim Brotherhood operative Mohamed Abdel Hafiz, who was sentenced to death in absentia in Egypt for his involvement in the assassination of public prosecutor Hesham Barakat, raises a number of questions on the future of relations between Turkey and the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Brotherhood, which
was founded in 1928, shares Ankara's regional views. Turkey helped the
Brotherhood reach power in a number of Arab states within what came to be known
as the Arab Spring in its desire to control decision-making in these states.
Between
pragmatism and amity
Turkey adopts a
pragmatic approach in its relations with other countries and movements around
the world. This opens the door wide for speculation on whether Turkey will stop
backing the Muslim Brotherhood in the future.
There is a widely-held
belief that the movement has become Turkey's tool in moving ahead with the
implementation of its colonial plans. It uses the Brotherhood in mobilizing the
public for these plans.
Turkish authorities
have dealt very seriously with the issue of the deportation of the Brotherhood
operative.
Yasin Aktay, an advisor of Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, justified the deportation of the Brotherhood operative by
saying that he had arrived in Istanbul from Mogadishu with an inappropriate
visa.
"This was why he was repatriated," Aktay
said of Mohamed Abdel Hafiz.
He said an inquiry had already been opened in
the deportation of Abdel Hafiz who did not apply for political asylum in
Turkey. He added that Turkish officials did not know that he was sentenced to
death in absentia in Egypt.
Visa Section officials at the Istanbul Ataturk
Airport said Abdel Hafiz did not meet entry requirements, which was why he was
repatriated to where he came from, namely the Somali capital.
However, Abdel Hafiz refused to go back to
Mogadishu and wanted to return to Egypt, the officials said.
They added that they had not received any
requests for suspending the deportation of the Brotherhood operative while he
was at the airport. Consequently, his deportation process moved ahead, they
said.
Nevertheless, a Turkish newspaper claimed that
Abdel Hafiz arrived in Istanbul on January 16 and was deported two days later,
even as he lodged an asylum request.
This was the first time Turkey had handed over
a Brotherhood element to Egypt, the newspaper said.
Reactions
Turkish authorities came under fire from
Brotherhood junior members living in Turkey. The authorities, they said, did
not intervene to prevent the deportation of Abdel Hafiz. Brotherhood operative
Haitham Abu Khalil said this was unprecedented in Turkey's relations with the
Brotherhood.
The Brotherhood junior members also launched a
number of campaigns to slam Abdel Hafiz's deportation, accusing the Turkish
government of willingly failing in preventing this deportation.
Possible scenarios
It is reasonable to say that Turkey is
reordering its priorities, which opens the door for changes in its relations
with the Muslim Brotherhood.
This is particularly true with the Brotherhood
becoming a regional pariah group.
The change can be attributed to recent
alterations in relations between Turkey and main regional players, namely
Russia and Syria, especially when it comes to expected Turkish moves in Idlib.
Turkey's support of terrorist groups, including
the Brotherhood, fueled tensions in its relations with Arab states. This is why
it is highly likely that Ankara can stop backing the Brotherhood in order to
protect its regional interests.