Interview with “50 Minutes” on Al Mashhad TV: How the Brotherhood works, and why Egypt is the backbone of the Arabs
Dr. Salem Alketbi was a guest on “50 Minutes” on Al Mashhad TV with host Mohammed Abu Obeid, in an episode titled “This is how the Brotherhood works… and Egypt is the backbone of the Arabs,” aired on June 27, 2026. The conversation, in Arabic, covered Gulf–Iran relations, Emirati diplomacy and the trust the UAE has earned worldwide, how the Muslim Brotherhood operates and its double discourse in the West, the roots of extremism, and Egypt’s place in the Arab order.
Episode chapters
- 03:52 · The US–Iran understanding and relations with the Gulf
- 09:44 · Iran’s nuclear program and regional proxies
- 11:56 · Emirati diplomacy and international mediation
- 15:08 · Political Islam and the Brotherhood’s changing tools
- 18:03 · The Brotherhood and the West: a double discourse
- 21:25 · Polarization and shaping generations
- 24:20 · The roots of extremism and the responsibility of states
- 29:04 · Why does the West support the Brotherhood?
- 31:51 · Defeating organizations versus defeating ideas
- 34:56 · Lone wolves and recruitment through technology
- 38:24 · Development and Arab security
- 41:19 · The Arab League and economic integration
- 45:42 · Egypt’s place in the Arab balance
- 46:57 · The Palestinian cause
Highlights from the episode
“The UAE keeps bridges of communication open even in the fiercest storms of disagreement with other countries.”
On the UAE and bridges of dialogue
“Dialogue must not be from a weak party to a strong one. There must be balance here, and Iran respects only the strong in any dialogue.”
On dialogue with Iran
“Since its founding, the UAE has built the trust that all the world’s countries place in it… based on the ethics of its leadership, which the new leadership still upholds: keeping its word, the aid it provides, and always standing by the friend, the brother and countries in need.”
On the world’s trust in the UAE
“The West says: I need democracy; the movement says: yes, we are democrats. It says: pluralism; they say: yes, we are pluralists… What it offers in the end is propaganda, a way of marketing itself to the West.”
On the Brotherhood and the West
“Whenever they are faced with reality, it becomes clear that they do not believe in a nation-state, a state of institutions, or a state that recognizes borders. Their view is: I have no state; the whole earth is my state.”
On the Brotherhood and the nation-state
“Religious media is one of the tools of governments; it must not be handed over. It is a strategic weapon.”
On religious media
“The narrative you present must be the dominant one, not the narrative of others… It is essentially a media battle.”
On the battle of ideas
“Development, development. If people find nothing to occupy themselves with, if they cannot find their daily bread, they will head in another direction, toward fragmentation.”
On the greatest threat to Arab security
“Egypt was and will remain the backbone of the Arab region: demographically, geopolitically, historically and culturally.”
On Egypt
Quotes translated from Arabic.
Clips from the episode
Excerpt from “50 Minutes” on Al Mashhad TV, June 27, 2026 (in Arabic). All rights reserved by the channel.
Excerpt from “50 Minutes” on Al Mashhad TV, June 27, 2026 (in Arabic). All rights reserved by the channel.
Excerpt from “50 Minutes” on Al Mashhad TV, June 27, 2026 (in Arabic). All rights reserved by the channel.
The channel also posted clips from the episode: “The UAE has earned the world’s trust” on Instagram, the same clip on Facebook, and “How the Brotherhood works” on Instagram.
MEMRI TV published an English-subtitled clip from the episode on the Muslim Brotherhood and the borders of the nation-state: watch the subtitled clip.
The full Arabic transcript of the episode is available on the Arabic version of this page.
