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Jordan Turns Its Sights on Muslim Brotherhood

(Financial Times-UK) Sharmila Devi - Jordan has opened a new domestic battlefront with the main Islamic organization in the country. The Muslim Brotherhood and its political arm, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), claim the government decided to crack down after the election of the Islamic group Hamas in the Palestinian territories in January and ahead of Jordan's own polls next year. Jordan, a key U.S. ally, allows the Muslim Brotherhood to operate as long as it expresses fealty to the king - in contrast to Egypt and Syria, which in the past have brutally suppressed the Islamists. Underlying the escalating debate is renewed tension over Jordan's identity. A majority of the citizens are of Palestinian origin and many feel outrage over the Western aid boycott, backed by Jordan, of the Hamas-led government. Jordan fears an additional influx of Palestinian refugees if Israel presses ahead unilaterally to set its borders in the West Bank should negotiations fail. Parliament this year is supposed to formulate new laws on media freedom, funding of political parties, and a new national electoral system, which should give more representation to urban areas where many Jordanians of Palestinian origin live.
2006-06-23 00:00:00
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