Turkey's Recep Tayyeb Erdogan has reportedly decided to give Turkish citizenship to Muslim Brotherhood (MB) affiliates living in Istanbul, MB sources told Al-Bawaba News Saturday. The Turkish government has initiated routine meetings with MB affiliates, calling on them to prepare documents necessary to set the president's decision in motion, the sources added. A group of MB leading figures officially applied for the Turkish citizenship during a meeting held with Erdogan in April, the sources added, indicating the Turkish president vowed to scrutinize their request. Erdogan's move will draw the ire of Turkish grassroots who oppose nationalizing MB members, preferring only to give them asylum right, according to Egyptian observers. A large number of Islamists have flocked to the MB-allied Turkey following the MB rule's ouster July 2013 amid mass street protests. Meanwhile, Turkey rejected giving its citizenship for the Jama'a Islamiya (Islamic Group) leaders, currently fugitive in Istanbul, as they are listed by the U.S. as terrorists, the sources argued.
