Jordan announces ban on Muslim Brotherhood after alleged armed plot

Group's assets will be confiscated but it remains represented in parliament

Jordanian police guard an Islamic Action Front office in Amman on the day the ban on the Muslim Brotherhood was announced. REUTERS / Alaa Al Sukhni

Jordanian authorities on Wednesday imposed a ban on the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood, a week after a dozen of its members were implicated in an alleged armed plot against the kingdom.

Interior Minister Mazen Al Faraya announced on TV that membership of the Brotherhood has been prohibited and all of its offices in the kingdom have been closed. The Jordanian media is now banned from advocating for the group.

Members of the Brotherhood have been "operating in the shadows and engaging in activities that could undermine stability and security", Mr Al Faraya said. He said authorities had found weapons and explosives being stored in residential areas and transported across Jordan, as well as covert missile manufacturing facilities and "training and recruitment operations" linked to the group.

Mr Al Faraya did not mention any ban on the Islamic Action Front party, the banner under which the Brotherhood is represented in the legislature.

The Brotherhood has for years been officially considered as dissolved in the kingdom. However, the new measures severely limit the room for manoeuvre it has had amid pressure on the political system emanating from the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

A Jordanian court last Wednesday charged 12 Muslim Brotherhood suspects with terrorism-related crimes over an alleged plan to manufacture weapons and drones and use them to destabilise the country.

Jordan accused 16 people in total of involvement in the plot, which allegedly involved training in Lebanon and smuggling of automatic weapons and explosives. It was the first time in decades that a domestic group has been accused of plotting a deadly scheme on this scale.

Jordan alleges that several cells of plotters made plans to manufacture weapons as part of an effort to destabilise the country. Photo: Ministry of Government Communication - Jordan

"It has been decided to ban all activities of the so-called Muslim Brotherhood and to consider any activity [carried out by it] a violation of the provisions of the law," Mr Al Faraya said. Official media said police searched a number of Brotherhood offices in the kingdom on Wednesday.

Officers would "close any offices or headquarters used by the group, even if they are in partnership with any other parties", Mr Al Faraya said.

The Islamic Action Front comprises the main the opposition in the legislature, which is mostly loyal to the government. Most significant powers in the country are with King Abdullah II.

The group's assets will be confiscated, said Mr Al Faraya, who added that the group had attempted to destroy documents to conceal "suspicious" activities. The Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood is a branch of the group founded in Egypt in the 1920s.

Jordan revealed details on April 15 of an alleged armed plot against the kingdom. Photo: Ministry of Government Communication

Jordan has a peace treaty with Israel and expelled Hamas's leadership more than 25 years ago for unspecified action that the authorities said threatened the country's security.

Hamas on Tuesday praised the alleged plot, which authorities said could have produced up to 250 short-range missiles, as an "initiative" by" young Jordanian men conscious of the "continued genocide in Gaza".

"Supporting the Palestinian resistance is a patriotic and moral duty. Hamas salutes every free voice and honest initiative in dear Jordan," Hamas said. It called for the release of the charged men.

Official media quoted an anonymous Jordanian official as saying that “Jordan is too big to respond to factions", describing the kingdom as having remained steadfast while “the factions disappeared”.

Six months ago, two Jordanian Brotherhood members tried to mount a cross-border raid near the Dead Sea but were shot by Israeli forces. The incident occurred shortly after the group made significant parliamentary election gains amid anger at Israeli actions in Gaza.