Erdogan-Sisi handshake sparks backlash from Turkey's Islamists
President Erdogan’s about-face on Egypt sparked backlash from some Turkish Islamists ahead of critical June elections.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s warm handshake with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during the opening session of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar caused a major stir in Turkey.
Many see the move as the penultimate nail in the coffin of Erdogan’s Islamist foreign policy in the Middle East.
The final nail will be the meeting he is reportedly seeking with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, his one time archenemy.
During the Arab Spring in 2010 and 2011, Erdogan believed that the disgruntled Arab masses would bring the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates to power across the region and elevate him to the level of a key regional Islamic leader.
