Le Monde Diplomatique, June 2026
Excerpts
“The Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood’s capacity to mobilise support has prompted the regime to outlaw it.
“We only read the Quran and talk about religion, never politics.’ The weekly meetings remain legal as long as participants avoid claiming that ‘Islam is the solution’ to the crises facing the country,” the 50-something mother explained. “ This was one of the first slogans of the Muslim Brotherhood (al-Ikhwan al-Muslimin), founded in Egypt by Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Saying it now would constitute a crime in Jordan.”
“The Jordanian branch of the Brotherhood was dissolved in 2020, although it was able to continue some of its social activities. But on 23 April 2025, after the arrest of 16 people accused of planning an attack on Jordanian soil, it was banned outright and its assets confiscated, within less than ten days and without any form of trial.
“The ban was officially imposed to protect the kingdom’s security. But Assem al-Omari, the defendants’ lawyer and a specialist in political opposition cases, argued that this was ‘the result of years of political violence against the Brotherhood’, which challenges the monarchy’s right to hereditary succession.
“Leftwing activists, Islamists and journalists, almost all of them just out of prison or accused of ‘inciting discord’ or ‘undermining national unity’. The Jordanian authorities work closely with the US and Israel and, according to Omari, they have been using Hamas’s attacks on Israel ‘as a pretext to settle scores’.
“Today roughly two thirds of Jordan’s population are of Palestinian descent. The Palestinian question was therefore particularly sensitive and fuelled internal political tensions. These tensions exploded in ‘Black September’ in 1970, when the monarchy brutally suppressed protests which had erupted in the Palestinian refugee camps against the end of Jordan’s military operations in Israel.
“The Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood was in an unusual position. Though tolerated by the regime and allowed a political role, it was excluded from real power. Instead it became a powerful social force. As a recognised charitable organisation it was able to contribute to the smooth running of public services and even step in where necessary, thanks to funding from donors from across the Arab world, particularly the Gulf.
“But these tensions continued to rise. In 1986 student groups linked to the Brotherhood organised big demonstrations. Three years later, uprisings in the city of Ma’an showed how powerful the movement was among the working classes. The regime was concerned: although the Ikhwan were important for the country’s stability, their capacity to mobilise the masses posed a threat.
“A new era began when political parties were legalised in 1992. The Brotherhood established a political wing, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), which quickly became the main opposition force in parliament. But the movement’s institutionalisation was tense from the outset. From the 2000s it prioritised domestic issues over its historical commitment to anti-Zionism.
“Hana Jaber, a researcher who focuses on Jordan, points out that the regime favoured ‘low-level, discreet repression based on intimidation’: tactics like infiltration, surveillance and encouraging division were its stock in trade. The strategy was effective, and the Brotherhood became progressively weaker. A split in 2015, stoked by the authorities from behind the scenes, further undermined it.
“But Hamas’s attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023 changed all that. The genocide in Gaza has returned the Palestinian question to the forefront of public debate in Jordan. Support for Hamas – estimated at 66% of the population in 2024 – has allowed the Brotherhood to regain influence. Despite its dissolution in 2020, it began organising weekly Friday marches in Amman right after the October attacks in support of the people of Gaza. The monarchy reacted by increasing arrests.
“By criticising Jordan’s economic ties with Israel, the IAF is tapping into public anger over the devastation in Gaza. In 2024 – when the first parliamentary election after the 7 October attacks was held – the party once again became the main opposition force, increasing its seat count from 10 to 31 out of 138, a political earthquake which rattled the authorities.
According to Assem al-Omari, lawyer and a specialist in political opposition cases, “Jordan’s approach to the Brotherhood has an important international dimension. ‘The king doesn’t necessarily want to ban the IAF, but he’s under pressure from Washington.’ US support, amounting to $1.45bn per year and pledged until 2029, is essential for Jordan’s economy… The official unemployment rate has stood at 20% for over a decade, but it is 40.8% for young people… Since January 2026 the country’s tourism sector, which represents 15% of GDP, has seen a 10% drop in revenue.”
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