Jordan has finally issued a ban on the Muslim Brotherhood, Interior Minister Mazen Al-Faraya’s announcement marking a defining shift in one of the country’s most enduring and complex political relationships.
Internal developments, regional shifts, and ideological divergences have all helped shape relations between the Brotherhood and Amman since the group established itself in Jordan in 1945 as a licensed religious and charitable association.
King Hussein bin Talal saw the Brotherhood as a natural ally against Arab nationalism and leftist political movements, and in the 1970s, the Brotherhood backed the state during its confrontation with Palestinian resistance factions.
Branching out
Over time, it expanded beyond religion, into education and social services, setting up schools and banks, gaining influence in professional syndicates, and putting down roots in Jordanian society, while fostering support and building a vast economic portfolio to amass the financial resources to strengthen its autonomy and reach.
The 1989 April uprising and the return of parliamentary life heralded a new era in Jordan’s political landscape. In 1992, the Brotherhood formed its political arm—the Islamic Action Front (IAF)—with implicit state backing from King Hussein, who felt that the integration of Islamist voices into Jordan’s politics was a strategic balancing act.
The IAF did well in elections at the expense of weakened leftist and right-wing parties, but tensions with the state emerged in the wake of the 1994 Wadi Araba peace agreement between Jordan and Israel, which the Brotherhood opposed as a betrayal of Palestinian rights.
Increasingly, its stance on foreign and domestic policy differed from Amman’s, forcing a reassessment of relations. During the Arab Spring in 2011, these tensions were further exacerbated, not least because the Brotherhood actively participated in protests. The group’s growing visibility in the streets eroded trust with the authorities.
Source of irritation
As with so much of the Middle East, the landscape changed after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. This let the Brotherhood in Jordan reposition itself. Public displays of support for Hamas were seen by Amman as attempts to leverage regional developments for domestic political gain.
As the Brotherhood's rhetoric became increasingly confrontational, tensions escalated, culminating in clashes with security forces and intensifying public discourse, but in the 2023 parliamentary elections, the IAF secured several seats, reflecting the state's continued willingness to integrate Islamist actors into formal politics as an alternative to street activism.
Despite still being offered a legitimate political platform, however, the Brotherhood opted to maintain its mobilisation strategy, relying heavily on mass protests and regional causes (such as the war in Gaza) to exert pressure. This reanimated tensions with the state and cast doubt on the group's commitment to institutional political engagement.
