President Erdogan"s two-day visit to the port city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia at the end of April 2022 marked a significant shift in Turkish foreign policy. It also emphasized the fact that - a decade after the so-called "˜Arab Spring" - the Islamist movement, in particular the Muslim Brotherhood, has lost most of its political power and no longer forms a threat to any of the authoritarian Arab nations, including Saudi-Arabia.
Turkey had to make quite an effort to get an official invitation from the Saudis; this included transferring the trial against the Saudi suspects accused of murdering journalist Jamal Khashoggi to Saudi authorities (
Haaretz, 7 April 2022). And while Erdogan did finally meet with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, upon arrival in he was only greeted by the governor of Mecca. More importantly, on his way back the president tweeted that "cooperation with the countries in our region against terrorism" is of great importance (
Twitter, 28 April 2022) and swiftly ordered the closure of al-Mekameleen, the Muslim Brotherhood"s Turkish television channel (
Haarezt, 7 May 2022).
"Each and every one of these actions is a U-turn compared to President Erdogan"s foreign policy in previous years", comments World Watch Research analyst Michael Bosch. "At first, he had used the Kashoggi murder to put pressure on the Saudis, but now he has silently buried the whole case. Previously, he had presented Turkey as a regional power with neo-Ottoman ambitions, now he accepted a second-tier reception in an Arab kingdom. And last, but definitely not least, he has now significantly downgraded Turkish support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been designated a terrorist organization by Saudi Arabia. Turkey was a major supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood and political Islam in general, and this is a heavy blow for the movement."
Michael Bosch continues: "Such U-turns have everything to do with Turkey"s dire economic situation with consumer prices rising 70% in the course of one year and the country in desperate need of foreign investment (
BBC News, 5 May 2022). Much of the collapse in the value of the lira has been caused by Erdogan"s refusal to raise interest rates, and with presidential elections coming in 2023, he will need the economy to improve if he wants to be re-elected. Hence, he does not have the financial room anymore to isolate Turkey from its regional neighbors and has now simply had to give in to their demands in order to restore ties."
Michael Bosch adds: "For Christians in Turkey and the wider region, the effects of this shift by President Erdogan will be limited. However, the demise of the political power of the Muslim Brotherhood might in the long term be considered a positive result, as the Freedom of Religion and Belief and the position of Christians within Islamist spheres of influence are far from guaranteed."
