Jordan has officially banned the Muslim Brotherhood and ordered the closure of all its offices across the country. The announcement was made by Interior Minister Mazin Abdellah Hilal al-Farrayeh at a press conference on Wednesday.
The move comes after the arrest of 16 members accused of planning rocket and drone attacks within Jordan. The group has also been accused of manufacturing weapons, hiding them in residential areas, and attempting to destroy documents to cover up its activities. Authorities said some of those involved had received training and funding from outside the country, particularly from Lebanon.
“Any activity by the group is now illegal, and promoting their ideas will be treated as a criminal offense,”
He said
All of the Brotherhood’s assets will be confiscated, and its presence in Jordan is now officially dissolved. Officials added that the group has been under surveillance since 2021.
Brotherhood Denies Plot
The Muslim Brotherhood denied being involved in any attack plot. However, it admitted that some members may have smuggled weapons to the West Bank in support of Palestinians.
The Brotherhood has been a major Islamic political force in the region and was once legally active in Jordan. In recent years, though, it has faced growing pressure and restrictions from the government.
What is the Muslim Brotherhood?
Despite being outlawed in several Arab countries, the Muslim Brotherhood has long operated legally in Jordan.
The group promotes a Sunni Islamist ideology and advocates for the creation of a caliphate governed by Islamic law. Its message continues to attract support in Jordan’s urban centers, where its grassroots network remains active.
In the September parliamentary elections, the Brotherhood’s political arm—the Islamic Action Front (IAF)—secured 31 of the 138 available seats. The party capitalized on widespread public anger over Israel’s military actions against Hamas, energizing its voter base.
“The Jordanian people have placed their trust in us,” IAF leader Wael al-Saqqa said following the results, though voter turnout was relatively low, at just 32%.
Murad Adailah, head of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, described the IAF’s success as a “popular referendum” supporting the group’s alignment with Hamas.
The Brotherhood insists it abandoned violent methods decades ago and now pursues its Islamist objectives through peaceful political engagement. Still, critics accuse the organization of maintaining extremist ties, and it remains classified as a terrorist group in countries like Egypt, where it was founded in the 1920s.
