Jordan’s government has issued a ban on the Muslim Brotherhood following the group’s alleged involvement in planning rocket and drone attacks. Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya announced that all of the Brotherhood’s offices would be closed and its assets confiscated, with any activities considered to be against the law.
There was no immediate response from the Brotherhood, which has denied any links to the alleged attack plots. The impact of the ban on the Brotherhood’s political arm, the Islamic Action Front, is unclear, but its headquarters were reportedly raided by police after Faraya’s announcement.
The IAF’s secretary general, Wael Saqqa, insisted that it is an independent political party with no relationship to any other organizational bodies. He stated that the group is always committed to order, the law, and the provisions of the constitution.
In 2020, Jordan’s top court ruled that the Brotherhood was “dissolved” due to its failure to settle its legal status. However, the group continued to engage in political and other activities, and the IAF participated in last year’s parliamentary elections, winning 31 out of 138 seats.
Last week, Jordan’s General Intelligence Department arrested 16 individuals suspected of planning attacks aimed at national security and disrupting chaos. These activities allegedly involved the possession of explosives and automatic weapons, the manufacturing of rockets, concealing a ready-to-launch rocket, a project to manufacture drones, and training individuals both in Jordan and abroad.
Faraya claimed during a news conference that the Brotherhood operates in secret and engages in activities that could undermine stability and security, including transporting explosives and weapons in residential areas and conducting covert rocket manufacturing. He also accused the group of attempting to remove and destroy documents from their headquarters.
The Brotherhood has denied any involvement in or knowledge of the alleged attack plot, emphasizing their commitment to a peaceful approach. Firstly founded in Egypt nearly a century ago, the Muslim Brotherhood has branches worldwide and aims to establish a state governed by Islamic law, or Sharia. It is currently outlawed in Egypt and several other Arab countries who view it as a threat.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn4w8prpkepo
