Qatar will allow the return of senior Muslim Brotherhood figures to Doha following the death of Saudi King Abdullah and the “consequent change in Qatar’s foreign policies,” according to a statement on the Brothers Without Violence Movement’s Facebook page Sunday.The secretary general of the Brotherhood Mahmoud Hussein, Freedom and Justice Party spokesperson Hamza Zawba, along with Essam Talima, the office director of sheikh Yousef al-Qaradawi, are among those expected to return to Qatar, according to the statement.
In the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings, Qatar has been accused of funding and encouraging the spread of Islamist movements, including the Muslim Brotherhood. Relations between Egypt and Qatar have almost frozen following the ouster of MB president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
Following Morsi’s ouster, some senior MB leaders sought refuge in Qatar and Turkey in a move to avoid judicial pursuit after security forces launched a sweeping crackdown on MB supporters. The group was officially dissolved by the Egyptian government in late 2013, and designated a terrorist organization on Dec. 25, 2013.
Their presence in the Gulf State had severely impacted its relations with Egypt and other Gulf States including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Egypt’s major allies in the Middle East.
In September Qatar expelled at least seven MB leaders following an agreement signed in Riyadh in November with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Gulf states.
