Jordan bans Muslim Brotherhood after alleged sabotage plot against Hashemite Kingdom
Amman’s Interior Ministry says it will seize Hamas ally’s assets, as police surround, search headquarters of Brotherhood-linked party, the largest in Jordan’s parliament
Jordan on Wednesday outlawed and confiscated assets of the Muslim Brotherhood, a Hamas ally and Jordan’s largest opposition group, members of which were linked by authorities to a yearslong sabotage plot against the Hashemite Kingdom.
Jordanian Interior Minister Mazen Fraya said all Muslim Brotherhood activities would be banned in the country and anyone promoting the group’s ideology would be held accountable by law. The ban includes publishing anything by the group and closure and confiscation of all its offices and property, he added.
Fraya said Muslim Brotherhood members had planned attacks on security targets and sensitive locations in the kingdom, aiming to destabilize the country, but did not disclose what these targets were.
Faraya told reporters that “members of the so-called Muslim Brotherhood… are operating in the shadows and engage in activities that could undermine stability and security.”
He added that authorities had found “explosives and weapons transported between Jordanian cities and stored in residential areas”, as well as covert missile manufacturing facilities and “training and recruitment operations” linked to the group.
There was no immediate comment from the Brotherhood, whose affiliated political party, Islamic Action Front, won the most seats in Jordan’s parliamentary election last year, though most seats are still held by government supporters. Following Wednesday’s announcement, Jordanian police surrounded and searched the Front’s headquarters in Amman.
Jordan banned the Muslim Brotherhood a decade ago, but officially licensed a splinter group, and continued to tolerate the Islamic Action Front while restricting some its activities. It was not immediately clear how far the latest ban would go.
Without providing names or further details, Jordan’s Interior Ministry said on Wednesday that the son of one of the Muslim Brotherhood’s leaders in the country had joined others in trying to manufacture and test explosives to be used against Jordanian security forces.
“It has been proven that members of the group operate in the dark and engage in activities that could destabilize the country,” the ministry said. “Members of the dissolved Muslim Brotherhood have tampered with security and national unity, and disrupted security and public order.”
???? Jordan Police at the headquarters of the Islamic Action Front party (linked to the Muslim Brotherhood) in Amman
Jordan’s security forces began implementing the government's decision to ban all activities of the Muslim Brotherhood.
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Last week, Amman announced the arrest of 16 Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood members who allegedly manufactured rockets and drones in preparation for an attack on the Hashemite Kingdom.
Jordan’s government also published a video of confessions by the suspects, who had been referred to the state security court for trial. The suspects were said to have received funding and training in Lebanon. The Brotherhood has denied the allegations.
The Muslim Brotherhood was established in Egypt nearly a century ago and has branches across the world. Opponents of the group, which is outlawed in most Arab countries, say it is a dangerous terrorist group that must be crushed. The movement says it publicly renounced violence decades ago and pursues an Islamist vision using peaceful means.
Hamas and the Brotherhood have been accused of fomenting anti-government street protests in Jordan throughout the war in Gaza, which was sparked when thousands of terrorists stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages. The US-backed Hashemite Kingdom has a significant Palestinian population.
Jordan, which expelled Hamas in 1999, enjoys relative stability compared with other countries in the region but has previously announced arrests on national security charges.
Last May, Jordanian officials said the country had thwarted an arms transfer from Hamas benefactor Iran, via Syria, to the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan.
Israel has also thwarted several arms-smuggling plots from Jordan, announcing in February that security forces had detained nine Israeli citizens and one West Bank Palestinian on suspicion of running one smuggling route. Iranian officials also told The New York Times last year that Iran employs Bedouins to smuggle arms from Jordan to Palestinian terror groups in the West Bank.
The Times of Israel Community.