After many years of backing the Muslim Brotherhood, Doha waved a red card at Muslim Brother leaders who have been living in Qatar since the ouster of Mohamed Morsi. Many Muslim Brotherhood leaders fled to Qatar after the Egyptian authorities declared the Brotherhood a terrorist organisation. Doha's action last week took observers by surprise. Qatar has been a staunch supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood for decades. It had long been home to Muslim Brotherhood preacher Yusef Al-Qaradawi, and the Al-Jazeera satellite television channel had served for some time as the Muslim Brotherhood's media outlet. Then suddenly Doha pulled the welcome mat out from under the Muslim Brothers' feet. “The Muslim Brothers abroad have only two countries to turn to — Turkey and Malaysia — now that Qatar has moved to expel seven Muslim Brotherhood leaders from its territories,” says Mohammed Yasser, a scholar on Islamist movements. The Muslim Brothers, he points out, had begun to create problems in Qatar because of their support for the Islamic State (IS). “Gulf countries applied pressure on Qatar, some of it via the US, to expel the Muslim Brothers and cease supporting them,” says Yasser. “The pressures mounted after it came to light that the Muslim Brothers were involved in furnishing IS with material support. Understandings were reached between Qatar and other GCC members. Doha could no longer sustain its support of Brotherhood leaders.” The Qatari government had already drawn up a preliminary list of Islamist officials who would be declared personae non grata, says Yasser. It included the group's secretary general, Mohamed Hussein, along with Wagdi Ghoneim, Gamal Abdel-Sattar, Hamza Zawba, Ashraf Badr Al-Din, Amr Darrag, Essam Telima, Gamal Abdel-Sattar, Tareq Al-Zomar and Asem Abdel-Maged. A number of Brotherhood officials from the younger generation were also on the list. While many of these individuals might travel to Malaysia, others may head to the UK. Several have applied for political asylum in Britain. Doha has said it will help facilitate their move to other countries. Yasser notes that the Qatari government has put at least a temporary gag on Al-Qaradawi. Says Yasser, “The Qatari decision came as a complete surprise to the Muslim Brothers, and speculation is rife that the numbers of those asked to leave the country will rise.” There is also talk that the Qatari government might move to confiscate Brotherhood assets, following pressure from Riyadh and other GCC countries to restrict the group's activities. Mustafa Badri, secretary-general of the Muslim Brotherhood coalition in Turkey and a member of the political bureau of the Salafist Front, says Muslim Brothers who have been asked to leave Qatar may head to Turkey. In a statement to the press, he said that a final destination had not yet been decided. The Qatari action, he continued, is part of the reconciliation agreement between Doha and other GCC nations and it is no coincidence that the announcement of the expulsions followed the visit of the Saudi ministers of foreign affairs and interior and chief of intelligence to Qatar. Muslim Brotherhood dissident Tharwat Al-Kharabawi believes Doha and Washington came under intensive pressure from the Gulf to expel leading Brotherhood officials from Qatar after Muslim Brotherhood leaders were discovered to have been involved in supplying material aid to IS. “Saudi pressure is the main factor behind the expulsion of the Muslim Brothers and the cut off in Qatari support for jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq,” says Al-Kharabawi. During their recent visit to Qatar, Al-Kharabawi adds, “the Saudi foreign minister and chief of intelligence agreed with Qatari officials that the latter should freeze all funds channeled to the Muslim Brotherhood and other groups that support IS and the Nusra Front, and that Qatar must expel anyone with any connection to the three organisations.” Al-Kharabawi thinks it unlikely that London would welcome the Muslim Brotherhood leaders expelled from Qatar. Turkey and Malaysia will be their best options, he says, “unless Turkey comes under pressure as well.” “Saudi pressures, and the recent meeting in Jeddah, are the chief reasons for the Qatari decision,” says Ali Basel, a scholar on political Islam. Basel believes Qatar will continue to support the Muslim Brothers materially, but in secret. He also notes that the Muslim Brothers are left in a difficult position now that Turkish Prime Minister Ahmed Davutoglu is contemplating reducing support for the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brothers struggled to maintain a cohesive front as they reacted to the sudden blow of the expulsions. The Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) issued a statement, which was read out by its spokesman, Samir Al-Wasimi: “Qatar has not clarified the reasons why it asked the seven Muslim Brotherhood leaders to leave,” it stated, adding that there were probably “diplomatic dimensions” behind the decision. The statement expressed the FJP's gratitude to the emir of Qatar and his people for hosting the Muslim Brothers and affirmed the continuing bonds of affection with Qatar. Aisha Al-Shater, daughter of Brotherhood Deputy Supreme Guide Kheirat Al-Shater, put a religious gloss on the Qatari decision, claiming it had a divine purpose, which was to “uphold the word of God.” On her Facebook page, she wrote: “Those who become attached to a place or to persons should revise their position ... It is sufficient for us that God has been the witness to their expulsion for the sake of upholding His word. They were fought because of their efforts to champion His Law — bear testimony to this, O Lord and now they are either martyred, confined to the oblivion of prisons, or hunted and driven to the ends of the earth ... The worldly attachments were severed in order to increase the certainty in God, alone, and to serve as a reminder to cling to Him above all else. So turn to Him and do your best to focus your thoughts on Him and, in so doing, be certain that release from suffering is at hand.” Some analysts believe that the expulsion of leaders from Qatar is the least of the Muslim Brothers' problems, and Doha could buckle under mounting Gulf pressure to “cut off the Muslim Brother tongue” — sever Al-Jazeera's support for the group. The Doha-based Al-Jazeera has been the main television channel through which the Muslim Brothers made their voice heard abroad and in Egypt. Its other satellite stations, such as Mukammileen and Rabaa, could never compensate for the loss of Al-Jazeera's international audience. Some Brothers have already left Doha for London, which has not signed an Interpol agreement with Egypt. The world appears to be closing in on the group. Many are appearing before the courts, others are in prison awaiting trial, yet others are on the run and appealing for political asylum. Are those who leave Doha for Turkey confident that Ankara will resist calls to expel them? Or are they worried that Ankara might also succumb to international pressure?
