In brief
Jordan is escalating its actions against the Muslim Brotherhood, emphasizing national security amid regional tensions and heightened scrutiny of the group’s activities.
Jordan's Interior Ministry declared on Wednesday a sweeping ban on the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist organization already outlawed in various Arab nations. This decisive move comes shortly after the arrest of 16 individuals accused of plotting threats to national security, involving weapons and explosives, and plans to manufacture drones while training combatants domestically and abroad.Interior Minister Mazin Al Farrayeh, during a televised news conference, indicated that these threats were associated with elements of the Muslim Brotherhood, stating that they had operated "in darkness" to undermine national stability and security. Al Farrayeh reported the discovery of explosives and weapons, emphasizing that members of the Brotherhood attempted to smuggle and destroy critical documents on the night the plot was revealed.The origin of this latest crackdown dates back to a 2020 court ruling that initiated processes towards disbanding the group, along with the closure of its headquarters in Amman since 2016. The effect of this new ban on the Islamic Action Front—a political offshoot of the Brotherhood, which secured 31 out of 138 parliamentary seats in the last elections and campaigned against the Israeli invasion of Gaza—remains uncertain.
