Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has bragged for decades about the unity of its members and its ability to withstand all external pressures. But the latest split hitting the group's hierarchy ended with a Turkey-based faction declaring the ouster of London-based acting General Guide Ibrahim Munir.

Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Talaat Fahmy announced the move Oct. 13, after Munir suspended six Turkish-based members for alleged corruption and embezzlement. Munir acted unilaterally, Fahmy said, and a Brotherhood governing panel that includes the same people he suspended decided he could no longer lead. "It is important that anyone who was sworn to hold higher positions in front of the Guidance Bureau of the group to uphold the system and bylaws," said Fahmy.

This is an unprecedented act of dissent in the group's 93-year existence. The decision to oust the general guide was taken by a group led by the Muslim Brotherhood's General Secretary Mahmoud Hussein. It took place days after Munir suspended the six members, including Hussein, and opened an investigation into their activities.

Munir, 84, is the group's oldest high-ranking member. He became a key leader in 2013 after Egypt banned the group and arrested then-General Guide Mohamed Badie. Badie received several life prison sentences last year in connection with violent protests that followed the Brotherhood's forced removal from power by the Egyptian military.

Munir helped the Brotherhood survive British government scrutiny into the Brotherhood's links to extremism in 2014. He told a Parliament committee that Islamic law tolerates apostates and homosexuals. He became acting general guide in August 2020 after Egypt arrested Brotherhood mastermind Mahmoud Ezzat.

The competing accusations and power struggle led Mokhtar Nouh, a former Muslim Brotherhood leader turned whistleblower, to disclose that the Brotherhood's Turkey office – led by Hussein – receives about $1.7 million monthly from the Turkish government, support that dates back to 2013. Munir is now trying to have that money request the money sent to London instead of Istanbul.

In a video, Munir called his removal "unlawful and unconstitutional." He said he was not surprised by the move, but argued that the suspended members are not authorized to act against him.

"Whoever contributed to these procedures have kicked himself out of the group," said Munir.

Munir recently bolstered his personal security after internal assassination threats, an unnamed source told Sky News Arabia. According to the same source, Hussein is preparing to declare himself as acting guide, while a group affiliated with him is trying to get rid of Munir.

"The culture of assassination and armed action is not a novelty for the Brotherhood, but it is a well-established custom, and it targeted anyone who disagrees or opposes the group's orientations since its foundation by Hassan al-Banna," Egyptian counter-terrorism expert Amro Farouk told Sky News Arabia.