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Has the Muslim Brotherhood Pushed Jordan Too Far?

(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Ghaith al-Omari - On April 15, Jordanian authorities announced the arrest of 16 members of the local Muslim Brotherhood (MB) branch on charges of acquiring explosives and manufacturing rockets and drones. Two of the suspects previously served on the group's Shura Council, a top MB decision-making body. Their publicized confessions indicate coordination abroad in Lebanon with Hamas and Hizbullah. In addition to receiving training there, they confessed to receiving money and equipment from foreign sources. The Gaza war has generated significant public anger in Jordan, which the MB has exploited to bolster its popularity, win big in last year's parliamentary election, and challenge the government's policies toward Israel and the U.S. in an increasingly confrontational manner. The investigation will force a reevaluation of the government's approach to the MB. The Brotherhood has been active in Jordan since the 1940s, and its relations with the government remained largely cooperative for decades. In exchange, the Brotherhood usually (but not always) supported the palace's foreign policy and security measures. Relations became more adversarial after the Brotherhood vociferously opposed Jordan's 1994 peace treaty with Israel. Jordanian security circles are particularly worried about the MB's vocal wartime identification with Hamas, an organization that was considered such a grave security threat that it was expelled from the kingdom in 1999. Recent MB statements have mirrored many Hamas positions. The sentiment among many Jordanian officials is that the previous lenient approach failed to change the MB's behavior, emboldening the group instead. Jordan's latest internal security challenge is a reminder that despite major setbacks to Iran's proxies throughout the region, the "axis of resistance" remains potent and determined to undermine America's closest regional allies. The writer is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute.
2025-04-24 00:00:00
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