AMMAN: Jordan’s authorization of a breakaway wing of the Muslim Brotherhood has sent tensions soaring between the decades-old organization and the government, accused of exploiting the rift to weaken the kingdom’s main opposition force.
In early March, the government gave its consent to the formation of the splinter Brotherhood group, led by a former head of the movement.
The offshoot aims to severe ties with the Brotherhood’s arm in Egypt.
Analysts say Jordan’s recognition of the new group — known as the Muslim Brotherhood Association — risks fanning discontent among the traditional opposition power base at a time when the kingdom is battling militancy in neighboring Iraq and Syria.
“The authorities have given themselves a real dilemma by focusing on a small group without political weight or popularity,” said political analyst Mohamed Abu Romman.
Analyst Karim Kamhawi said the government could seek to follow the lead of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE in criminalyzing the group.
“But politically this would be a big mistake,” he said. “The fight between the Brotherhood and the state is a fight for democracy. The state needs to keep out of party political life.”
Jordan joined the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria last year and enjoyed a groundswell of public support for air raids on the rebels after one of its captured pilots was burned alive in January.
Amman has already arrested and imprisoned dozens of would-be fighters trying to enter Syria and there are fears that its foreign air wars could lead to blowback at home. Abu Romman warned that Jordan’s acceptance of a new Brotherhood group risked the “radicalization” of existing militant outfits. The political arm of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic Action Front, has long been tolerated by authorities in Amman and makes up the strongest opposition group in parliament.
Tensions escalate in Jordan over Muslim Brotherhood rift
