Jordan accused the Muslim Brotherhood of planning assaults within the nation and launched a blanket ban in opposition to the group on Wednesday, in a transfer that might shutter the nation’s largest opposition occasion, the Islamic Motion Entrance, the group’s political arm in Jordan.
The Islamic Motion Entrance gained a foothold in Parliament final 12 months after campaigning in opposition to the Israeli invasion of Gaza.
Right here’s extra in regards to the Muslim Brotherhood and its attain throughout the Center East.
What’s the Muslim Brotherhood?
The Muslim Brotherhood is a Sunni Islamist motion based in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna, a schoolteacher in Egypt, who argued {that a} non secular renewal would assist the Muslim world fend off colonialism and Western affect.
He was typically contradictory in regards to the group’s focus and prevented defining what an Islamic authorities would seem like. Mr. al-Banna was assassinated in 1949 on the age of 43.
The group’s doctrine, nonetheless, unfold throughout the area, the place many political actions, which function loosely and independently, hint their roots to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.
Some associated teams use the Muslim Brotherhood of their names, however others don’t. Equally, some teams are explicitly linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, whereas others are offshoots or descendants.
The Muslim Brotherhood has denounced violence, however some individuals who develop into pissed off with the group’s stance have left for extra militant organizations, like Al Qaeda.
What occurred in Jordan?
The announcement on Wednesday got here every week after Jordanian safety services mentioned that that they had arrested 16 folks accused of threatening nationwide safety by involving weapons and explosives, and planning to make drones.
The Jordanian inside minister, Mazin Al Farrayeh, suggested in a information convention that the plot was related to the group, saying that “components of the Muslim Brotherhood” had “labored in darkness to hold out actions that undermine stability and tamper with safety and nationwide unity.”
The Muslim Brotherhood didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Jordan’s ban.
This isn’t the primary time that Jordan has moved in opposition to the group.
In 2016, Jordan closed the Muslim Brotherhood’s headquarters in Amman, the capital, and in 2020, a court docket took steps towards disbanding the group. However the Islamic Motion Entrance was allowed to continue operations.
Consultants say that Jordan’s sweeping ban on Wednesday could also be associated to world pushback in opposition to Hamas, which was based by a person energetic within the Muslim Brotherhood throughout the first Palestinian rebellion in opposition to Israeli management of the West Financial institution and Gaza.
“My guess is that the Jordanian authorities feels pressured by the Trump administration’s keenness to push folks from the Gaza Strip to different international locations,” mentioned Jon B. Alterman, the director of the Center East program on the Middle for Strategic and Worldwide Research in Washington. However he mentioned the reasoning was finally unclear.
“There’s a approach through which Gaza is in play now, which creates home considerations for the Jordanian authorities, which can make them much less tolerant of political opposition and make them extra frightened of home unrest,” he added.
A big portion of Jordan’s inhabitants is Palestinian, and Jordan has skilled native discontent over the battle in Gaza, particularly after the Jordanian authorities supported Israel in downing Iranian missiles final spring.
An inner rift in Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood has been rising in recent times. Average members wish to calm tensions between the federal government and the group, whereas extra aggressive factions favor of difficult the nation’s rulers on rights and reforms.
How is the group seen all over the world?
Throughout President Trump’s first time period, his administration thought-about labeling the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group, which might have imposed broad journey and financial restrictions on individuals who work together with the far-flung and loosely knit group.
The proposal roiled the Center East and was met with criticism from officers and specialists, who mentioned the transfer might have unintended penalties.
Some Muslim Brotherhood actions in Arab international locations have championed democratic elections, inflicting friction in locations led by authoritarian governments.
The group’s assist has dwindled in locations the place it was as soon as in style, corresponding to Egypt and Tunisia, partly as a result of governments have cracked down on the group. In Egypt, for instance, the army deposed the nation’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, a former Brotherhood chief who was elected amid the Arab Spring. The nation’s leaders in 2013 banned the group and imprisoned lots of its members.
What’s subsequent for the Islamic Motion Entrance?
It’s not instantly clear how the ban will have an effect on the Islamic Motion Entrance’s operations.
The police surrounded the group’s headquarters in Amman on Wednesday, and in a information convention, the occasion’s secretary basic, Wael Saqqa, mentioned members have been stunned by the searches the authorities performed however had voluntarily complied.
The Islamic Motion Entrance didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Vivian Nereim, David D. Kirkpatrick and Rana F. Sweis contributed reporting.
