Egypt’s Brotherhood has emerged as the greatest threat to the UAE. The UAE leadership must take immediate measures to show that it will not stand for such threats from the Brotherhood. Read more »
Muslim Brotherhood
Qatar’s Brotherhood Ties Alienate Fellow Gulf States
The Arab Gulf States may not admit it publicly, but a schism is slowly emerging between these countries in the wake of the rise of Islamist powers in the region. Qatar, on the one hand, has wholeheartedly endorsed the new Islamist powers of the Arab world in the form of the Muslim Brotherhood, while the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have been skeptical at best. Although disagreements concerning external relations have previously emerged within the Gulf Cooperation Council states — for instance, some states have stronger ties with Iran than others would like to see — this is the first time that a member state has allied itself closely with a party that another member state accuses of undermining its system of government. Read more »
Spiraling relations between the Brotherhood and the UAE
Last year the Muslim Brotherhood — an organization viewed with much skepticism both inside and outside Egypt, and especially in some Gulf quarters — ascended to power, first through Parliament and then the presidency. In the spring of 2012, I decided to take a leap of faith, open a channel of communication and visit the organization to preserve the then-strong relations between Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Read more »
The Brothers and the Gulf
As tensions mount in Cairo over the Muslim Brotherhood’s erratic political decisions, the Brotherhood is also trying to navigate suspicion about its motives from oil-rich countries in the Gulf. In particular, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has emerged as one of the Brotherhood’s primary antagonists: Relations have deteriorated so much that a senior Brotherhood leader recently accused the UAE, home to more than 300,000 Egyptians, of “financing the opposition” in Egypt. The UAE is a small country, and it is understandably challenged by a transnational organization that uses religion as a means of attaining political power. Read more »
The fate of the ‘Brotherhoods’ outside Egypt
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood today is the political group that calls the shots, affecting not only Egypt but also countries where the organization has active chapters. Contrary to popular belief, it could be argued that the Brotherhood’s rise to power in Egypt wasn’t necessarily a good thing for its regional affiliates. Read more »
Morsy to renew the Brotherhood-Saudi relationship
The relationship between the Saudi government and the Brotherhood in Egypt is being rewritten, and a large part of this rapprochement rests on the shoulders of Egypt’s new president. Although this rapprochement will face many hurdles, including the role of Egypt’s Salafis and the consequent influence of Saudi’s Wahhabi clerics on the country, it looks like we are witnessing a previously unimaginable good start for Egypt’s relationship with Saudi Arabia. Read more »