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Muslim Brotherhood, Stumbling Stone on Track of Ankara-Cairo Relations | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Muslim Brotherhood supporter Gihad Fayez, 23, was expelled for allegedly obstructing the education process and protesting, accusations she rejects. She has applied to multiple private universities but has been turned down. REUTERS/Staff


Muslim Brotherhood, Stumbling Stone on Track of Ankara-Cairo Relations

by | Sep 24, 2016 | Middle East |

Muslim Brotherhood, Stumbling Stone on Track of Ankara-Cairo Relations

Cairo- A positive atmosphere has prevailed over the tense relations between Turkey and Egypt that lasted for three years due to Turkey’s rejection to cope with the new political status quo represented in removing the Muslim Brotherhood from power.

However, the Muslim Brotherhood seems to be a stumbling stone for the normalization of ties between the two countries especially after calling on the dismissed students from Egyptian universities to register and resume their studies in a new university established in Istanbul.

High-ranking Egyptian and Turkish officials hinted in August that relations might improve. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also earlier expressed willingness to enhance relations with Egypt.

A reliable source at the Ministry of Education in Egypt said that the Turkish university offered students coming from Egypt the opportunity to resume their studies in it, in addition to granting them scholarships, knowing that tuition fees reach up to USD5,000 a year.

Egyptian authorities have also taken strict measures at the beginning of this academic year to combat any violence or riot that could possibly occur at a total of 26 public universities.

Every now and then Egyptian universities witness skirmishes caused by Muslim Brotherhood students who are demanding the release of the students arrested during the events that have been taking place in the country since the removal of Mohammed Morsi from power in 2013.

The source added that the universities have modern equipment to identify suspicious objects and strict conditions are in place for the student’s admission to compounds inside the Egyptian universities. One of these conditions is that the student should not have received sentences for being involved in violent acts in Egypt.

Later, the Ministry of Education of Egypt allowed the security forces to enter universities to protect and guard the facilities; students are being inspected to stop them from smuggling objects that could be used for violence purposes.

According to the source, there is no official count on the number of students who are still under detention in violence and ransacking cases.