Former Egyptian leader Mohamed Morsi during an interview with Reuters in Cairo, May 28, 2011. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El-Ghany.

Islamists’ rapid rise to power in the Middle East following the Arab Spring revolutions came to a halt following a popular revolution that swept Egypt on June 30, 2013. Several days of protests across the country were met with violence by the Muslim Brotherhood, but the Egyptian army ousted Morsi, signaling a new era in the region.

Prior to the June 30th revolution, Islamists across the region had reached the highest echelons of power, including the presidency in Egypt in 2012, and controlled the parliaments in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, and Jordan.

Back in February 2012, the Arab Spring revolutions had toppled the long-serving leaders such as Tunisian President Zine al-Abdine Ben Ali, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi, and Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who were ousted from office in quick succession under pressure from uprisings that were initiated by liberal powers.

A few years after the June 30th upheaval, the Muslim Brotherhood group was banned in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates. Last April, Tunisia banned the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Ennahda party.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s brief rule of Egypt under President Mohamed Morsi was characterized by authoritarianism that reached its climax when Morsi suspended the constitution, disbanded the High Constitutional Court, and appointed Islamists in most key positions in the country.

The Wind of Change in the Middle East

Other Middle Eastern countries’ leaders who were facing the meteoric rise of Islamists in their countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan and Tunisia, felt relieved that the Muslim Brotherhood was beaten in its home country by the will of the people.

The Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates began to adopt more liberal ways of living and governance. Both countries introduced secular-leaning reforms, and the UAE eventually adopted social and religious liberties in a region that is marred by ultra-conservatism and extremism.

Saudi Arabia adopted massive social and religious reforms, many of which focused on women and social freedoms and unlocking the potential of Saudi society. Changes included granting women permission to drive in 2019, and to remove their Islamic headscarves freely without getting arrested or punished. Cinemas, theaters and music carnivals are allowed now in the once ultra-conservative Kingdom. Moreover, religious reforms have been adopted, which enable the country to part from its Wahhabi adopted doctrine.

Following the January 2011 Arab Spring uprising in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood leaders received direct political and financial support from Qatar, which endorsed the groups and hosted its leaders in Doha.

But the constant media support spearheaded by the Al Jazeera news network, along with the financial and political support, did not change the destiny of the Muslim Brotherhood, as the reality and shoddy performance of the group in power became too visible to mask.

Qatar capitulated under a boycott from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE, and was forced to alter its rhetoric and mitigate its support for the Muslim Brotherhood. Following visits from Qatari Prince Tamim Bin Hamad, diplomatic relations between Egypt and Qatar were restored.

Sudan had been reeling under the weight of Islamist rule under President Omar el-Bashir since the 1989 coup d’ etat. The Sudanese dictator allied himself with the Muslim Brotherhood leader Hassan Al Turabi, to rule with strict Islamic laws in the country. Following the ouster of El-Bashir in 2019, Sudan turned a new page and the once stronghold of Islamists and launchpad of terrorist groups including Al Qaeda in the region, adopted a secular constitution and recognized Israel. Sudan and Israel announced last February that they will normalize relations this year.

Following the events in Egypt, Tunisia, which was once regarded by the media as the epitome of Arab Spring success stories, has also revolted against the tight grip of Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated party Ennahda. Once the ruling party, Ennahda repeated its Egyptian counterpart’s mistakes and adopted violent methods and schemes. Ennahada’s leader and former speaker of the house, Rachid Ghannouchi, was sentenced to one year in prison last May on charges related to terrorist activities.

However, Tunisia is facing economic blues following the Covid crisis and the political instability that characterized the country in the past few years. Western political circles and analysts fear the worst for the country if the international community does not assist Tunisia financially.

The international community is at risk of “having the Muslim Brotherhood create instability” in Tunisia if the country is not swiftly granted “substantial financial help,” said Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani at a conference last March. “We can’t afford the radicalization of the Mediterranean,” he added.

That said, the Muslim Brotherhood’s attempts to return to the political scene in the Middle East cannot be discounted.

The rippling effects of the revolution which led to the ousting of the Muslim Brotherhood from the political spectrum cannot be ignored, and it will be remembered as the time when the Islamists almost ruled the Middle East. It can be safely stated that the June 30th revolution marked a turning point, and ended that trajectory.

Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) Senior Fellow Hany Ghoraba is an Egyptian writer, political and counter-terrorism analyst at Al Ahram Weekly, author of Egypt’s Arab Spring: The Long and Winding Road to Democracy and a regular contributor to the BBC. A version of this article was originally published by IPT.