There is no political party in Turkey that distinctively and openly represents the Muslim Brotherhood (i.e., the Brotherhood).Omer Taspinar, “Turkey: The New Model?”, Brookings Institution, April 25, 2012, https://www.brookings.edu/research/turkey-the-new-model/; Svante Cornell and M.K. Kaya, “The Naqshbandi-Khalidi Order and Political Islam in Turkey,” Hudson Institute, September 3, 2015, https://hudson.org/research/11601-the-naqshbandi-khalidi-order-and-political-islam-in-turkey. Some members of the leading Justice and Development Party (AKP), however—including Turkish President Recep Erdoğan—have provided various forms of support to the Brotherhood, including granting asylum to wanted Brotherhood members and equipping them with satellite television and radio stations. Despite being charged in absentia by the Egyptian government, some Brotherhood fugitives have been allowed to openly congregate in Turkey and organize against the Egyptian government.Svante Cornell and M.K. Kaya, “The Naqshbandi-Khalidi Order and Political Islam in Turkey,” Hudson Institute, September 3, 2015, https://hudson.org/research/11601-the-naqshbandi-khalidi-order-and-political-islam-in-turkey; Mohammad Abdel Kader, “Turkey’s relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood,” Al Arabiya, October 14, 2013, http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/alarabiya-studies/2013/10/14/Turkey-s-relationship-with-the-Muslim-Brotherhood.html; Umar Farooq, “Turkey Nurtures Egypt’s ‘Terrorist’ Muslim Brothers,” Daily Beast, April 15, 2015, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/04/15/turkey-nurtures-egypt-s-terrorist-muslim-brothers.html; “Egyptian court sentences Muslim Brotherhood members to life,” Deutsche Welle,July 5, 2014, http://www.dw.com/en/egyptian-court-sentences-muslim-brotherhood-members-to-life/a-17760287; “Pro-Brotherhood TV presenter to stand trial in absentia on 8 July,” Daily News Egypt, June 29, 2015, http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2015/06/29/pro-brotherhood-tv-presenter-to-stand-trial-in-absentia-on-8-july/.

Erdoğan’s relationship with the Brotherhood dates back to the 1970s, when he first met Brotherhood spokesman Kemal Al-Helbawy at a series of conferences organized by the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), a Wahhabi-Salafist organization in Saudi Arabia that is believed to have funded Hamas and al-Qaeda.Steven Merley, “Turkey, the Global Muslim Brotherhood, and the Gaza Flotilla,” Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 2011, 31, http://www.jcpa.org/text/Turkey_Muslim_Brotherhood.pdf. At the time, Erdoğan was the top advisor for Necmettin Erbakan, the leader of the short-lived Islamist National Order Party (MNP) in Turkey.Steven Merley, “Turkey, the Global Muslim Brotherhood, and the Gaza Flotilla,” Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 2011, 31, http://www.jcpa.org/text/Turkey_Muslim_Brotherhood.pdf. As Helbawytold the Wall Street Journal in 2011, “We always had ties with the Islamic movement or political party… even before the formation of the AKP.”Steven Merley, “Turkey, the Global Muslim Brotherhood, and the Gaza Flotilla,” Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 2011, 31, http://www.jcpa.org/text/Turkey_Muslim_Brotherhood.pdf.

Erbakan’s MNP—a nationalistic Islamist party that rejected Western influence—was banned in 1971 for violating Turkey’s constitutional principal of secularism.Omer Taspinar, “Turkey: The New Model?” Brookings Institution, April 25, 2012, https://www.brookings.edu/research/turkey-the-new-model/; Svante Cornell and M.K. Kaya, “The Naqshbandi-Khalidi Order and Political Islam in Turkey,” Hudson Institute, September 3, 2015, https://hudson.org/research/11601-the-naqshbandi-khalidi-order-and-political-islam-in-turkey; Mohammad Abdel Kader, “Turkey’s relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood,” Al Arabiya, October 14, 2013, http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/alarabiya-studies/2013/10/14/Turkey-s-relationship-with-the-Muslim-Brotherhood.html. Erbakan went on to establish a series of similar short-lived Islamist parties in the subsequent decades including the National Salvation Party (MSP) in 1972, the Welfare Party (RP) in 1983, and the Virtue Party (FP) in 1997. Each of these parties was banned by Turkey’s constitutional courts within a span of several years for violating the constitutional principal of secularism. Omer Taspinar, “Turkey: The New Model?” Brookings Institution, April 25, 2012, https://www.brookings.edu/research/turkey-the-new-model/; National Salvation Party, Oxford Islamic Studies, accessed October 18, 2016, http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e1734.

Following the shutdown of Erbakan’s FP in 2001, Erdoğan and a group of his followers broke off to establish the AKP, a conservative political party that garnered support by promoting social services such as housing and health care.Omer Taspinar, “Turkey: The New Model?” Brookings Institution, April 25, 2012, https://www.brookings.edu/research/turkey-the-new-model/. In 2002, the AKP earned a majority of the votes in Turkey’s general elections, effectively positioning Erdoğan as the Turkish prime minister.Omer Taspinar, “Turkey: The New Model?” Brookings Institution, April 25, 2012, https://www.brookings.edu/research/turkey-the-new-model/; Lily Rothman, “How Turkey’s Erdogan First Came to Power,” Time, July 18, 2016, http://time.com/4410491/turkey-president-erdogan-history/. In 2014, after serving three terms as prime minister, Erdoğan was elected president of Turkey.Lily Rothman, “How Turkey’s Erdogan First Came to Power,” Time, July 18, 2016, http://time.com/4410491/turkey-president-erdogan-history/.

Throughout their political careers, Erbakan and Erdogan both maintained working relationships with the global Brotherhood network. During the 1990s, Erbakan launched a series of Islamist conventions that sought to congregate Brotherhood leaders from the Middle East and North Africa regions to counter Western influence in the region. When Erbakan served as Turkey’s prime minister from 1996 to 1997, he even spoke of forming an “Islamic NATO.”Steven Erlanger, “New Turkish Chief’s Muslim Tour Stirs U.S. Worry,” New York Times, August 10, 1996, http://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/10/world/new-turkish-chief-s-muslim-tour-stirs-us-worry.html?pagewanted=all. Following Erbakan’s death in 2011, several leading Brotherhood figures attended his funeral, including Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and the Brotherhood’s former spiritual guide Mohamed Mahdi Akef.Svante Cornell and M.K. Kaya, “The Naqshbandi-Khalidi Order and Political Islam in Turkey,” Hudson Institute, September 3, 2015, https://hudson.org/research/11601-the-naqshbandi-khalidi-order-and-political-islam-in-turkey.. Germany’s domestic intelligence agency also claims that the leader of the Islamische Gemeinschaft Deutschland (IGD), a Brotherhood-affiliated organization in Germany, is married to Sabiha Erbakan, the sister of Erbakan’s nephew.Steven Merley, “Turkey, the Global Muslim Brotherhood, and the Gaza Flotilla,” Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 2011, 33, http://www.jcpa.org/text/Turkey_Muslim_Brotherhood.pdf; Svante Cornell and M.K. Kaya, “The Naqshbandi-Khalidi Order and Political Islam in Turkey,” Hudson Institute, September 3, 2015, https://hudson.org/research/11601-the-naqshbandi-khalidi-order-and-political-islam-in-turkey; Barry Rubin, “The Muslim Brotherhood: The Organization and Policies of a Global Islamist Movement,” St. Martin’s Press (New York), 2010, 155, https://books.google.com/books?id=so3GAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA155&lpg=PA155&dq=Necmettin+Erbakan+married+to+Muslim+Brotherhood+Germany&source=bl&ots=vQJF-HbFfj&sig=RKS0qtNFyTuaMGb_jo_IP6ZWx5s&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjozaa4pcLSAhUrqVQKHfL1BIgQ6AEIMzAE#v=onepage&q=Necmettin%20Erbakan%20married%20to%20Muslim%20Brotherhood%20Germany&f=false.

Although Erdoğan has attempted to distance the AKP from its history of Islamism, the party has demonstrated strong support for the Brotherhood, particularly after the July 2013 ouster of senior Brotherhood leader and Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi.Mohammad Abdel Kader, “Turkey’s relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood,” Al Arabiya, October 14, 2013, http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/alarabiya-studies/2013/10/14/Turkey-s-relationship-with-the-Muslim-Brotherhood.html; Gonul Tol and Feyza Gumusluoglu, “Turkey’s Choices: Muslim Brotherhood or Regional Isolation,” Middle East Institute, May 2, 2016, http://www.mei.edu/content/article/turkey’s-choices-muslim-brotherhood-or-regional-isolation. With Erdoğan at its helm, the AKP has served as a sanctuary for members of the exiled Egyptian Brotherhood organization.Mohammad Abdel Kader, “Turkey’s relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood,” Al Arabiya, October 14, 2013, http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/alarabiya-studies/2013/10/14/Turkey-s-relationship-with-the-Muslim-Brotherhood.html; Umar Farooq, “Turkey Nurtures Egypt’s ‘Terrorist’ Muslim Brothers,” Daily Beast, April 15, 2015, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/04/15/turkey-nurtures-egypt-s-terrorist-muslim-brothers.html. An estimated 1,500 Brotherhood members sought sanctuary in Turkey after Morsi’s 2013 downfall.Patrick Kingsley, “Decimated Muslim Brotherhood Still Inspires Fear. Its Members Wonder Why,” New York Times, July 15, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/15/world/europe/muslim-brotherhood-qatar-egypt-turkey-saudi-arabia.html. Brotherhood members based in Turkey include Syrian Brotherhood communications director Omar Mushaweh, former senior leader Amr Darrag, acting Supreme Guide Mahmoud Ezzat, and spokesman Talaat Fahmi.Hollie McKay, “Syrian Muslim Brotherhood revives amid ongoing civil war, lashes out at the U.S. and Israel,” Fox News, July 9, 2018, https://www.foxnews.com/world/syrian-muslim-brotherhood-revives-amid-ongoing-civil-war-lashes-out-at-the-u-s-and-israel; Robert Fisk, “Amr Darrag: Ex-Muslim Brotherhood minister in exile still believes Egypt's military regime can be replaced with 'moderate' Islamic rule,” Independent (London), May 5, 2015, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/amr-darrag-exmuslim-brotherhood-minister-in-exile-still-believes-egypts-military-regime-can-be-replaced-with-moderate-islamic-rule-10227129.html; Eric Trager and Marina Shalabi, “The Brotherhood Breaks Down,” Foreign Affairs, January 17, 2016, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/egypt/2016-01-17/brotherhood-breaks-down; Mamoon Alabassi, “Rift widens in Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood after spokesman’s sacking,” Middle East Eye, December 17, 2015, http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypts-muslim-brotherhood-split-after-row-over-spokesperson-sacking-966712164.

AKP’s support for the Brotherhood has strained its relationships with other regional powers, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, each of which has designated the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.Gonul Tol and Feyza Gumusluoglu, “Turkey’s Choices: Muslim Brotherhood or Regional Isolation,” Middle East Institute, May 2, 2016, http://www.mei.edu/content/article/turkey’s-choices-muslim-brotherhood-or-regional-isolation. After Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, and Bahrain severed diplomatic ties with Qatar in 2017 and demanded the emirate sever its links to the Brotherhood, Turkey sided with Qatar in the dispute.Patrick Kingsley, “Turkey Throws Support Behind Qatar in Rift Among Arab Nations,” New York Times, June 7, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/07/world/europe/turkey-qatar-support.html?action=click&module=RelatedCoverage&pgtype=Article&region=Footer.

Erdoğan himself has also indicated his support for the Brotherhood. “It is not an armed group, but…an ideological organization,” he stated in a February 2017 interview with Al Arabiya in response to international pressure against the organization. “There would be no tolerance for the Muslim Brotherhood in Turkey if they had to do with terrorism, and we have not seen or observed any action [from them] that indicates this.”“Turkey’s Erdogan: Muslim Brotherhood is ideological, not terrorist organisation,” Middle East Monitor, February 17, 2017, https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170217-turkeys-erdogan-muslim-brotherhood-is-ideological-not-terrorist-organisation/. Erdoğan has also maintained that Morsi is the legitimate leader of Egypt, reiterating his support for Morsi as recently as May 2015.Umar Farooq, “Turkey Nurtures Egypt’s ‘Terrorist’ Muslim Brothers,” Daily Beast, April 15, 2015, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/04/15/turkey-nurtures-egypt-s-terrorist-muslim-brothers.html; Jack Moore, “Turkey’s Erdogan: ‘Morsi is Egypt President, Not Sisi,” Newsweek, May 22, 2015, http://europe.newsweek.com/turkeys-erdo-morsi-egypts-president-not-sisi-327640?rx=us.

Erdoğan also permits the global Brotherhood to hold conferences in Turkey. Days after Morsi’s ouster in July 2013, Istanbul hosted two international Brotherhood assemblies, during which exiled Brotherhood leaders assessed the possibility of reinstating Brotherhood leadership. The meeting was reportedly attended by Brotherhood representatives from the Middle East and North Africa, including representatives from Morocco, Malaysia, Mauritania, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Iraq.Mohammad Abdel Kader, “Turkey’s relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood,” Al Arabiya, October 14, 2013, http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/alarabiya-studies/2013/10/14/Turkey-s-relationship-with-the-Muslim-Brotherhood.html. In August 2015, Istanbul hosted the Conference for Countering Despotism and Bloodshed, a two-day symposium in which Brotherhood members and sympathizers openly criticized the Egyptian government. Pro-Brotherhood speakers at the event labeled the Egyptian government as illegitimate and urged Egyptians “not [to] abide by any of the state’s decrees and should, instead strive to rise against them.”Sonia Farid, “The Brotherhood’s Istanbul conference: Turkey’s message to Egypt?” Al Arabiya, August 18, 2015, http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/analysis/2015/08/18/The-Brotherhood-s-Istanbul-conference-Turkey-s-message-to-Egypt-.html.

In addition to hosting pro-Brotherhood conferences, Erdoğanhas also allowed the Egyptian Revolutionary Council (ERC), a pro-Brotherhood activist group, to operate out of Istanbul. Opposed to the July 2013 coup in Egypt, the ERC is dedicated to persuading foreign governments to dissociate from the Sisi’s government.Umar Farooq, “Turkey Nurtures Egypt’s ‘Terrorist’ Muslim Brothers,” Daily Beast, April 15, 2015, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/04/15/turkey-nurtures-egypt-s-terrorist-muslim-brothers.html. Although the ERC does not operate on behalf of the Brotherhood, many of its exiled members and sympathizers have joined the organization. Established in August 2014, the ERC has since met with human rights missions and various diplomats from across Europe, but has drawn criticism from Egypt, which designates the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.Umar Farooq, “Turkey Nurtures Egypt’s ‘Terrorist’ Muslim Brothers,” Daily Beast, April 15, 2015, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/04/15/turkey-nurtures-egypt-s-terrorist-muslim-brothers.html.

Despite banning and censoring thousands of oppositionist news outlets since taking the presidency in 2014, Erdoğanallowsa handful of pro-Brotherhood stations to operate within the country. Stations such as Rabia TV, al-Sharq, and al-Watan (formerly Misr Alaan)—run by exiled Egyptian Brotherhood members such as former Secretary General Mahmoud Hussein and Brotherhood politician Basim al-Khafagy—often broadcast pro-Islamist messaging including glorified accounts of Brotherhood clashes with the Egyptian government and threats directed at Western-owned companies in Egypt to leave the country.“Muslim Brotherhood Operatives in Turkey Call For Killing Egyptian Officials, Threaten Egypt; Turkish MP: Turkey Shelters ‘Many MB and Hamas Members,’” MEMRI, February 6, 2015, https://www.memri.org/reports/muslim-brotherhood-operatives-turkey-call-killing-egyptian-officials-threaten-egypt-turkish; Mostafa Hashem, “The Great Brotherhood Divide,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, March 02, 2016, http://carnegieendowment.org/sada/?fa=62942; Mary Atkinson, “Egypt asks France to shut down pro-Brotherhood satellite channel,” Middle East Eye, May 13, 2015, http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypt-asks-france-shut-down-pro-brotherhood-satellite-channel-208107289; Fehim Tastekin, “Turkey accused of escalating violence in Egypt,” Al Monitor, February 6, 2015, http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/02/turkey-egypt-muslim-brotherhood-escalating-violence.html.

Many of the pro-Brotherhood channels also reportedly attempt to incite violence against the Egyptian government.Umar Farooq, “Turkey Nurtures Egypt’s ‘Terrorist’ Muslim Brothers,” Daily Beast, April 15, 2015, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/04/15/turkey-nurtures-egypt-s-terrorist-muslim-brothers.html. In 2015, Egypt convicted two al-Sharq television hosts in absentia for attempting to incite violence against its security forces and conspiring against the Egyptian government.“Turkey-based TV host sentenced to 8 years in prison,” Daily News Egypt, September 13, 2015, http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2015/09/13/turkey-based-tv-host-sentenced-to-8-years-in-prison/; TV host handed 10 year sentence for ‘attempt to overthrow regime,” Daily News Egypt, July 8, 2015, http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2015/07/08/tv-host-handed-10-year-sentence-for-attempt-to-overthrow-regime/. That same year, Turkish authorities shutdown al-Watan precursor Misr Alaan after one of its hosts called for the assassination of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.“Istanbul-based Pro-MB channel to stop broadcast after Turkish pressure,” NSNBC International, August 16, 2015, https://nsnbc.me/2015/08/16/istanbul-based-pro-mb-channel-to-stop-broadcast-after-turkish-pressure/; “Calls to Kill President Al-Sisi and Egyptian Journalists on Muslim Brotherhood TV Channels Based in Turkey,” MEMRI, January 29, 2015, https://www.memri.org/tv/calls-kill-president-al-sisi-and-egyptian-journalists-muslim-brotherhood-tv-channels. Separately, on Rabia TV, Egyptian Brotherhood cleric Salama Abd al-Qawihas said that killing Sisi “would be a good deed” and that the person who did it would be brought “closer to Allah.”“Calls to Kill President Al-SISI and Egyptian Journalists on Muslim Brotherhood TV Channels,” MEMRI, accessed March 7, 2017, https://www.memri.org/tv/calls-kill-president-al-sisi-and-egyptian-journalists-muslim-brotherhood-tv-channels.

Rabia TV also broadcast a statement threatening Western companies, tourists, and governments visiting Egypt. Broadcast in January 2015, the statement called for “all foreign nationals - foreigners, Arabs, and Africans - and all employees of foreign companies” to “leave the country [Egypt] immediately.” After that, the statement continued, “they may be targeted by the movements of revolutionary retribution. You are hereby warned.”“Muslim Brotherhood Operatives in Turkey Call For Killing Egyptian Officials, Threaten Egypt; Turkish MP: Turkey Shelters ‘Many MB and Hamas Members,’” MEMRI, February 6, 2015, https://www.memri.org/reports/muslim-brotherhood-operatives-turkey-call-killing-egyptian-officials-threaten-egypt-turkish.

Analysts have also suggested that Turkey has supplied weapons and activists to the Muslim Brotherhood for its activities in Egypt. Turkish intelligence officer Irshad Hoz, for example, was arrested by authorities in Egypt in connection to the Brotherhood.Mohammad Abdel Kader, “Turkey’s relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood,” Al Arabiya, October 14, 2013, http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/alarabiya-studies/2013/10/14/Turkey-s-relationship-with-the-Muslim-Brotherhood.html. Egypt has also accused the Turkish government of conspiring with the Muslim Brotherhood. In November 2017, Egyptian authorities detained 29 individuals on suspicion of espionage for Turkey. Egypt’s General Intelligence Services (GIS) alleged that they had been passing information to Turkish intelligence services as part of a plot to bring the Muslim Brotherhood back to power in Egypt.“Egypt detains 29 people on suspicion of espionage for Turkey,” Reuters, November 22, 2017, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-egypt-court/egypt-detains-29-people-on-suspicion-of-espionage-for-turkey-idUSKBN1DM1AN.

In early 2019, Turkey began deporting some members of the Brotherhood, raising concerns within the organization about their continued safe haven in the country. In January 2019, Turkey deported Muslim Brotherhood member Mohamed Abdelhafiz Ahmed Hussein after he arrived from Somalia with a forged visa seeking asylum. He had been convicted in absentia in Egypt of murder in relation to the 2015 assassination of general prosecutor Hisham Barakat and sentenced to death. Brotherhood members in Turkey reportedly feared that Turkey would begin to deport them to appease the European Union. A month later, Turkish government officials claimed they had no information Hussein was facing charges anywhere and demanded an investigation into Hussein’s deportation. The government launched an investigation and suspended eight police officers.Waleed Abdul Rahman, “Turkey’s List of Deportation Angers Muslim Brotherhood,” Asharq al-Awsat (London), March 18, 2019, https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1639146/turkey%E2%80%99s-list-deportation-angers-muslim-brotherhood; Selam Ramadan, “The Changing Face of Turkey’s Relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood,” 7D News, February 8, 2019, https://7dnews.com/news/the-changing-face-of-turkey-s-relationship-with-the-muslim-brotherhood; “Egypt to execute nine prisoners accused of killing public prosecutor: Amnesty,” Middle East Eye, February 19, 2019, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypt-execute-nine-prisoners-accused-killing-public-prosecutor-amnesty; Waleed Abdurrahman, “Turkey’s Deporting of Young MB Member Reveals Split Within Group,” Asharq al-Awsat (London), February 13, 2019, https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1589566/turkey%E2%80%99s-deporting-young-mb-member-reveals-split-within-group; “Turkey probes deportation of Egyptian facing death penalty,” Reuters,” February 6, 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-egypt/turkey-probes-deportation-of-egyptian-facing-death-penalty-idUSKCN1PV0XL. That March, the Turkish government announced the deportation of 12 Brotherhood members to Egypt, where they are wanted on various charges. Other Brotherhood members launched a campaign to pressure the government to reverse the decision.Waleed Abdul Rahman, “Turkey’s List of Deportation Angers Muslim Brotherhood,” Asharq al-Awsat (London), March 18, 2019, https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1639146/turkey%E2%80%99s-list-deportation-angers-muslim-brotherhood.

Despite the deportations, the Turkish government has publicly remained supportive of the Brotherhood. After U.S. President Donald Trump announced in April 2019 that he is considering declaring the international Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, a spokesman for Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party responded that such a move would hurt democratization and human rights across the Middle East while helping ISIS.“Turkey's AK Party: U.S. move against Muslim Brotherhood would damage democracy in Middle East,” Reuters, April 30, 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-muslimbrotherhood-turkey/turkeys-ak-party-us-move-against-muslim-brotherhood-would-damage-democracy-in-middle-east-idUSKCN1S62JX.