Suppressing the Brotherhood: Avoiding a Repeat of History

On 4 July 2013, the Egyptian military removed President Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood from power after four days of intense street protests. General Sisi, the Egyptian defence minister at the time, quickly took the helm and announced the change in government in a televised address to fireworks and cheering crowds across the country. The US, UN and EU were reluctant to describe the ousting as a coup, although all voiced concerns about the situation.

Almost two years on, it is worth revisiting the above event and explore the context behind it in light of the current Houthi conflict in Yemen. Despite the lack of a label as a coup, it is widely accepted that Morsi's removal was an organised affair with Saudi Arabia (and the UAE) pulling strings in the background.

The Gulf States remember well the Nasser regime in Egypt where he toppled the monarchy in 1952 and then attempted to export the revolution throughout the Arab world, promoting nationalism as alternatives to the system of ruling monarchs in the Gulf. Between 1950 and 1970 the monarchies of Iraq, Yemen and Libya fell and in 1969, there was a failed attempt to overthrow the establishment in Saudi Arabia. In fact, Saudi Arabia was in the midst of a proxy war against Egypt in Yemen between 1962 and 1970 where the Saudis backed the return of Imamate rule (following their ousting in the republican revolution of 1962) and Egypt backed the revolutionaries.

It is against this backdrop that Saudi Arabia views the Muslim Brotherhood: an organised political movement that poses a threat to the remaining monarchies in the Gulf. Saudi Arabia made clear that it would welcome Morsi's ouster and a few days after the event actually happened, Saudi Arabia together with the UAE and Kuwait provided millions of dollars in financial aid to help "repair Egypt". This backing clearly demonstrates the Gulf States' support for the new regime in Cairo.

In Saudi Arabia, the Brotherhood is now designated as a terrorist organisation and any support to the group will result in imprisonment. In the UAE, a crackdown has effectively ended the Brotherhood'sactivities in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Kuwait still has a Brotherhood presence, but is converting its stance to anti-Brotherhood.

Qatar remains a spanner in the works which continues to provided financial and political support to the Brotherhood. To show its disapproval, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait withdrew their ambassadors from Doha in March 2014 in a move designed to force Qatar to reconsider its loyalties. However, whether Qatar will submit to its neighbours' desires remains to be seen as it continues to strive to be the premier Gulf State over Saudi Arabia.