Former Muslim Brotherhood leader Ali Bayanouni returns to Syria

Ali Sadr al-Din al-Bayanouni, the former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria, has returned to his country after more than four decades in exile, most of which he spent in London since the 1980s following a major dispute between the group and the ousted Syrian regime.

Bayanouni, one of the most prominent figures in the movement, served as the group’s leader from 1996 to 2010 before handing over the position to Mohammed Riad al-Shakfa.

His return took place quietly through Aleppo International Airport, where he was received by relatives, close friends and supporters. According to people close to him, his homecoming was in line with conditions set by the Syrian authorities, which allow only “individual” returns, separate from any collective or political activity that could revive the Brotherhood’s presence inside the country.

The move comes amid ongoing political and social developments in Syria, where relations between the Muslim Brotherhood and the authorities in Damascus remain strained, a legacy of the violent confrontations of the 1980s.

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