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Muslim Brotherhood in Retreat

(Jerusalem Post) Jonathan Spyer - At the beginning of 2013, the Muslim Brotherhood held power in Egypt and Tunisia. A Syrian insurgency dominated by militias with similar ideas to the Brotherhood looked to be heading for victory. A Brotherhood-related party was in power in Turkey, and Qatar, through its immensely popular Al Jazeera channel, had emerged as the cheerleader and financier of the Brothers' advance across the region. Since then, the Brotherhood was forcibly removed from power in Egypt in a military coup in July. Tunisia's al-Nahda party has agreed to dissolve the government and hold new elections. In Syria, Assad's regime has rallied. In Qatar, the emir was replaced in June by his son, and Qatar has virtually disappeared from the regional stage. In Turkey, where the Brotherhood-aligned AKP had expected to form an alliance of like-thinking Brotherhood-style Sunni Islamist regimes across the region, these events appear to be taking a toll. A broadcast featuring Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan discussing the crushing of the Brotherhood in Egypt had to be stopped recently when the Turkish leader began weeping uncontrollably.
2013-10-15 00:00:00
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