Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Analysis: Will Johnson Change UK's Stance Towards Brotherhood?


Sat 27 Jul 2019 | 11:47 AM
Nawal Sayed

Many media reports began to ask about the Muslim Brotherhood situation in the UK after Boris Johnson took over as Britain’s prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party on July 23.

Also some reports shed more light on him, his personal life and family background. In fact, Johnson’s political background is not less interesting than his family’s stories.

The British politician wrote a book about the Roman empire in 2006 and said that there was something about Islam that hindered development in parts of the globe and, as a result, “Muslim grievance” was a factor in virtually every conflict around the world.

Johnson’s “The Dream of Rome” book has been strongly condemned and his argument was widely criticized for arguing that Islam has caused the Muslim countries to be “centuries behind” the west, according to the Guardian which unearthed that essay.

Muslim Brotherhood vs. Johnson’s Conservatism

There are many question marks on the United Kingdom’s stance towards the Muslim Brotherhood group which is labeled terrorist and banned in many countries, most notably Egypt, UAE and Saudi Arabia a few years ago.

Most of the terrorist group’s prominent figures fled to Qatar, Turkey, Syria and the UK.

Political analysts believed that electing Johnson as the UK’s premier is a new victory of “populism” in the world which will witness new threats amidst absence of democracy and liberal values.

Appointing conservative premier in such a significant post in Britain is reminding us of the world’s status before the two world wars where nationalism streams increased all over Europe.

However, observers manifested in local reports that the British Conservative Party has strong ties with the Muslim Brotherhood group which helped the party in several polls through mobilizing Muslim voters to elect their candidates.

Moreover, the British security services is used to taking advantage of the Brotherhood group as a pressure tool over Middle East countries; notably Gulf States.

It’s noteworthy that Johnson’s  great-grandfather Ali Kemal was a Turkish politician and was a Muslim. Ali Kemal Bey was an Ottoman Turkish journalist, newspaper editor, poet and a politician of liberal signature. He served as a minister of interior for three months in the government of Damat Ferid Pasha, the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire. He was murdered during the Turkish War of Independence.

However, other views anticipated that Johnson will take a different path than previous Prime Minister Theresa May. It’s expected that the new premier will push the Commons to review their policies towards the Brotherhood group’s financial resources.

On their part, Brotherhood leaders living in Britain have some fears that their international organization will be under media spotlight and political focus these days. Thus they may seek getting allies at the Labor Party and heading to polish their reputation in English papers.

https://see.news/new-britains-pm-boris-johnson-has-turkish-muslim-ottoman-origins/