By Suleiman Al-Khalidi
AMMAN (Reuters) – Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets on Wednesday after members were found to be linked to a sabotage plot, Interior Minister Mazen Fraya said.
Here are some basic facts about the Brotherhood and the political party that is widely seen as its parliamentary wing:
THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IN JORDAN
The Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in the 1920s as an Islamic political movement to counter the spread of secular and nationalist ideas. It swiftly spread through Muslim countries, becoming a major player but often operating in secret.
Although it works illegally as a clandestine organisation in many countries, it had been officially licensed in Jordan since independence in 1946 as a charitable and social organisation when the monarchy regarded the group as a potential ally.
It has widespread grassroots support in major urban areas and scores of offices around the country.
The Brotherhood does not operate under its own name as a political party but the Islamic Action Front (IAF) is widely regarded as its – unacknowledged – political wing.
The IAF, whose head Wael Saqqa said on Wednesday the party has “no organisational ties” with the Brotherhood, has been one of the biggest forces in parliament since Jordan legalised political parties in 1992.
Saqqa’s party offices were raided on Wednesday and documents seized.
WHAT DO THE AUTHORITIES THINK?
Despite its long presence in Jordan, the Brotherhood fell under official suspicion after the 2011 Arab Spring, when Islamists vied for sway with established powers across the Middle East.
Jordan for years resisted pressure from Gulf Arab countries and Egypt, which have long been suspicious of the Brotherhood, to ban the organisation.
But in keeping with a regional crackdown on political Islam and public freedoms, Jordan tightened restrictions on the group over the past two years, forbidding its public rallies and arresting vocal dissidents.
Jordanian authorities had also encouraged a splinter group to legally challenge the main movement’s license to operate but until Wednesday, they had shied away from an outright ban.
Security officials say the suspects arrested last week were directly linked to the Lebanese wing of Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas.
Jordan’s political establishment now views the Brotherhood as having tried to form a clandestine militia and posing a direct challenge to the state, crossing a red line.
The Brotherhood said the group arrested over a plot that was unveiled last week had links to it but acted in its own capacity. The arrested group had sought to smuggle weapons to Palestinians but did not plan attacks inside Jordan, according to the Brotherhood.
THE ISLAMIC ACTION FRONT
The IAF took more seats than any other party in last year’s parliamentary elections, giving it 31 of the 138 seats for the first time, but it remained in opposition to the pro-Western government.
Although the IAF says Jordan’s political system treats it unfairly, it has competed in most elections. It says this is necessary to prevent it falling into the political wilderness and to ensure a vocal opposition.
The party commands strong support in the cities, especially in Palestinian areas, but has also become more popular in tribal areas in recent years.
In a country where anti-Israel sentiment runs high, the IAF has led some of the largest protests in the region in support of Hamas during the war in Gaza, and its opponents say this has helped boost its popularity.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The government says the courts will deliver the final verdict at the end of the trial on those implicated in the plot.
Meanwhile it has said that any organisation promoting the Brotherhood’s ideology will also be banned, raising questions about the future of the IAF.
The Amman government may push both the IAF and individual members of parliament to disavow the Brotherhood, though it is not yet clear how that would work or what it could mean for the seats the IAF now holds.
(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; editing by Angus McDowall and Mark Heinrich)
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