Jordan on Wednesday announced that it would enforce a widespread ban on the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group that has been outlawed in several other Arab countries. Jordan banned the Muslim Brotherhood a decade ago but officially licensed a splinter group and continued to tolerate the Islamic Action Front while restricting some of its activities. It was not immediately clear how far the latest ban would go, Al Jazeera reported.
Police surrounded the party’s headquarters on Wednesday and were searching it in a pivotal moment for Jordan.
The announcement came a week after Jordanian security services said that they had arrested 16 people accused of plotting threats to national security involving weapons, explosives and plans to manufacture drones and train combatants, both at home and abroad.
The Jordanian interior minister, Mazin Al Farrayeh, suggested in a televised news conference on Wednesday that the plot was connected to the group, saying “elements of the Muslim Brotherhood” had “worked in darkness to carry out activities that undermine stability and tamper with security and national unity.”
He said explosives and weapons had been discovered and added that the night the plot was announced, the Muslim Brotherhood had “tried to smuggle and destroy a large number of documents.” He also said authorities had discovered an explosives manufacturing operation connected to a son of one of the group’s leaders.
What is the Muslim Brotherhood? Which countries have already banned it?
The Muslim Brotherhood is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization that originated in Egypt in 1928, founded by Hassan al-Banna. Its core mission has been to promote a society governed by Islamic principles, including the implementation of Sharia (Islamic law), through social reform, education, and, in some cases, political engagement.
List of countries which have outlawed Muslim Brotherhood
Egypt: Banned and declared a terrorist organization in 2013 after the ousting of Morsi.
Saudi Arabia: Banned and designated a terrorist organization in 2014.
United Arab Emirates: Banned and listed as a terrorist group.
Russia: Designated as a terrorist organization.
Syria: Banned since the 1960s; brutal crackdowns occurred in the 1980s.
Bahrain: Banned, especially after links to political unrest.
Israel: Banned and viewed as a hostile group.
Austria: Took steps to ban activities linked to political Islam, including Brotherhood-affiliated groups.
Germany: Not officially banned, but under surveillance due to concerns about extremism and anti-democratic activities.
Legal or Semi-Tolerated (but monitored):
Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, and Tunisia have Brotherhood-affiliated parties that participate in politics to varying degrees, although tensions and restrictions exist.
